Reception device, display control method, transmission device, and transmission method for program content type

ABSTRACT

Previously, users could not be notified when the 3D mode type of a program being received by a digital broadcast receiver was not compatible with the digital broadcast receiver. A reception device is provided with: a reception unit which receives program content including video information and identification information including information for distinguishing whether the program content is 2D program content or 3D program content; and a display control unit which controls the display so as to display whether the aforementioned program content is 2D program content or 3D program content in response to the received aforementioned identification information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/699,775, filed Apr. 5, 2013, which is a U.S. National Phaseapplication under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No.PCT/JP2011/001800, filed Mar. 28, 2011, which claims benefit of priorityto Japanese Application No. 2010-134652, filed Jun. 14, 2010; JapaneseApplication No. 2010-126444, filed Jun. 2, 2010; and JapaneseApplication No. 2010-126445, filed Jun. 2, 2010. The contents of theabove applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technical field relates to a three-dimensional (3D) videotransmission technique, reception technique, display technique or outputtechnique.

BACKGROUND ART

Patent Literature 1 assumes “providing a digital broadcasting receptiondevice capable of dynamically announcing that a user-desired programstarts on a certain channel or the like” (see Patent Literature 1[0005]) as a technical problem and describes as the solution to theproblem “including means for extracting program information included ina digital broadcasting wave and selecting a program to be announcedusing selection information registered by the user and means fordisplaying a message that announces the existence of the selectedprogram to be announced by wedging it into a screen currently beingdisplayed (see Patent Literature 1 [0006]).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature Patent Literature 1: JP-A-2003-9033SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

However, Patent Literature 1 discloses nothing about viewing of 3Dcontent. For this reason, there is a problem that it is not possible todistinguish whether a program that the receiver is currently receivingor will receive in the future is a 3D program or not.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the above-described problem, an aspect of the presentinvention receives, for example, program content containing videoinformation and identification information containing informationidentifying whether the program content is 2D program content or 3Dprogram content, and controls a display showing whether the programcontent is 2D program content or 3D program content according to thereceived identification information.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the above-described means, it is possible to distinguishwhether a program that the receiver is currently receiving or willreceive in the future is a 3D program or not and enhance the convenienceof the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a block diagram illustrating a systemconfiguration example.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a block diagram illustrating a configurationexample of a transmission device 1.

FIG. 3 shows an example of assignment of stream format type.

FIG. 4 shows an example of structure of a component descriptor.

FIG. 5(a) shows an example of component contents and component typewhich are components of the component descriptor.

FIG. 5(b) shows an example of component contents and component typewhich are components of the component descriptor.

FIG. 5(c) shows an example of component contents and component typewhich are components of the component descriptor.

FIG. 5(d) shows an example of component contents and component typewhich are components of the component descriptor.

FIG. 5(e) shows an example of component contents and component typewhich are components of the component descriptor.

FIG. 6 shows an example of structure of a component group descriptor.

FIG. 7 shows an example of component group type.

FIG. 8 shows an example of component group identification.

FIG. 9 shows an example of charging unit identification.

FIG. 10(a) shows an example of structure of a 3D program detaildescriptor.

FIG. 10(b) is a diagram illustrating an example of 3D/2D type.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of 3D mode type.

FIG. 12 shows an example of structure of a service descriptor.

FIG. 13 shows an example of service format type.

FIG. 14 shows an example of structure of a service list descriptor.

FIG. 15 shows an example of transmission processing on the componentdescriptor in the transmission device 1.

FIG. 16 shows an example of transmission processing on the componentgroup descriptor in the transmission device 1.

FIG. 17 shows an example of transmission processing on the 3D programdetail descriptor in the transmission device 1.

FIG. 18 shows an example of transmission processing on the servicedescriptor in the transmission device 1.

FIG. 19 shows an example of transmission processing on the service listdescriptor in the transmission device 1.

FIG. 20 shows an example of processing on each field of the componentdescriptor in the reception device 4.

FIG. 21 shows an example of processing on each field of the componentgroup descriptor in the reception device 4.

FIG. 22 shows an example of processing on each field of the 3D programdetail descriptor in the reception device 4.

FIG. 23 shows an example of processing on each field of the servicedescriptor in the reception device 4.

FIG. 24 shows an example of processing on each field of the service listdescriptor in the reception device 4.

FIG. 25 shows an example of a configuration diagram of a receptiondevice of the present invention.

FIG. 26 shows an example of schematic diagram of a CPU internal functionblock diagram of the reception device of the present invention.

FIG. 27 shows an example of a flowchart of 2D/3D video displayprocessing based on whether the next program is 3D content or not.

FIG. 28 shows an example of message display.

FIG. 29 shows an example of message display.

FIG. 30 shows an example of message display.

FIG. 31 shows an example of message display.

FIG. 32 shows an example of a flowchart of the system control unit whenthe next program starts.

FIG. 33 shows an example of message display.

FIG. 34 shows an example of message display.

FIG. 35 shows an example of a block diagram illustrating a systemconfiguration.

FIG. 36 shows an example of a block diagram illustrating a systemconfiguration.

FIG. 37(a) is a diagram illustrating an example of 3Dplayback/output/display processing on 3D content.

FIG. 37(b) is a diagram illustrating an example of 3Dplayback/output/display processing on 3D content.

FIG. 38 is a diagram illustrating an example of 2Dplayback/output/display processing on 3D content.

FIG. 39(a) is a diagram illustrating an example of 3Dplayback/output/display processing on 3D content.

FIG. 39(b) is a diagram illustrating an example of 3Dplayback/output/display processing on 3D content.

FIG. 40(a) is a diagram illustrating an example of 3Dplayback/output/display processing on 3D content.

FIG. 40(b) is a diagram illustrating an example of 3Dplayback/output/display processing on 3D content.

FIG. 40(c) is a diagram illustrating an example of 3Dplayback/output/display processing on 3D content.

FIG. 40(d) is a diagram illustrating an example of 3Dplayback/output/display processing on 3D content.

FIG. 41 shows an example of a flowchart of 2D/3D video displayprocessing based on whether the current program is 3D content or not.

FIG. 42 shows an example of message display.

FIG. 43 shows an example of a display processing flowchart after userselection.

FIG. 44 shows an example of message display.

FIG. 45 shows an example of a flowchart of 2D/3D video displayprocessing based on whether the current program is 3D content or not.

FIG. 46 shows an example of message display.

FIG. 47 shows an example of combination of streams during 3D videotransmission.

FIG. 48 shows an example of a program table display.

FIG. 49 shows an example of a program table display.

FIG. 50 shows an example of message display.

FIG. 51 shows an example of a flowchart when an unsupported 3D modemessage is displayed.

FIG. 52(a) shows an example of message display.

FIG. 52(b) shows an example of message display.

FIG. 52(c) shows an example of message display.

FIG. 53 shows an example of program display.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. However, the present invention is not limited to the presentembodiment. The present embodiment will describe mainly a receptiondevice and is preferably implemented in the reception device, but thepresent embodiment is not meant to hinder its application to anythingother than the reception device. Moreover, all components of theembodiment need not be adopted but only some of the components may beselectable.

<System>

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration example ofthe present embodiment. FIG. 1 illustrates a case where information istransmitted/received through broadcasting, and recorded or played back.However, information may be transmitted/received through not onlybroadcasting but also VOD through communication, and suchtransmission/reception is also generically called “delivery.”

Reference numeral 1 denotes a transmission device set up in aninformation providing station such as a broadcasting station, 2 denotesa relay device set up in a relay station, broadcasting satellite or thelike, 3 denotes a public network that connects a general household and abroadcasting station such as the Internet, 4 denotes a reception deviceset up in a user's house or the like, and 10 denotes a receptionrecording/playback unit incorporated in the reception device 4. Thereception recording/playback unit 10 can record/play back broadcastinformation or play back content from a removable external medium.

The transmission device 1 transmits a signal radio wave modulated viathe relay device 2. In addition to transmission by a satellite as shownin FIG. 1, transmission by cable, transmission by telephone lines,transmission by ground wave broadcasting, transmission via the publicnetwork 3 such as the Internet may also be used. This signal radio wavereceived by the reception device 4 is demodulated into an informationsignal as will be described later and then recorded into a recordingmedium if necessary. Alternatively, when a signal is transmitted via thepublic network 3, the signal is converted to a format such as a dataformat (IP packet) compliant with a protocol appropriate to the publicnetwork 3 (e.g., TCP/IP) and the reception device 4 that has receivedthe data decodes the data into an information signal, converts it to asignal suitable for recording if necessary and records it into arecording medium. The user can watch and listen to video/audio dataindicated by the information signal on a display when incorporated inthe reception device 4, or by connecting the reception device 4 to adisplay (not shown) when not incorporated.

<Transmission Device>

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of thetransmission device 1 of the system in FIG. 1.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a source generator, 12 denotes an encodingunit that compresses a signal using MPEG2, H.264 scheme or the like andadds program information or the like, 13 denotes a scrambling unit, 14denotes a modulation unit, 15 denotes a transmission antenna, and 16denotes a management information adding unit. The video, audio or otherinformation generated in the source generator 11 made up of a camera,recording/playback apparatus or the like is compressed in the dataamount by the encoding unit 12 so as to be transmitted in less occupiedbandwidth. Data transmission is encrypted by the scrambling unit 13 ifnecessary so as to be accessible only to specific users. After beingmodulated by the modulation unit 14 into a signal appropriate fortransmission such as OFDM, TC8PSK, QPSK, multilevel QAM, the signal istransmitted as a radio wave from the transmission antenna 15 to therelay device 2. In this case, the management information adding unit 16adds program-specific information such as an attribute of contentcreated by the source generator 11 (e.g., video/audio coded information,audio coded information, program configuration, whether video is 3D ornot) and also adds program array information created by a broadcastingstation (e.g., configuration of a current program or the next program,service format, configuration information of programs for a week) or thelike. Such program-specific information and program array informationwill be collectively called “program information” hereinafter.

A plurality of pieces of information are often multiplexed with oneradio wave using time-sharing, spread spectrum or other methods.Although not shown in FIG. 2 for simplicity, there are a plurality ofsource generators 11 and encoding units 12 in this case, and amultiplexing unit that multiplexes a plurality of pieces of informationis provided between the encoding unit 12 and the scrambling unit 13.

Regarding a signal transmitted via the public network 3, a signalcreated by the encoding unit 12 is likewise encrypted by an encryptionunit 17 if necessary so as to be accessible to only specific users.After being coded by a communication path coding unit 18 so as to becomea signal appropriate for transmission through the public network 3, thesignal is transmitted from a network I/F (Interface) unit 19 to thepublic network 3.

<3D Transmission Scheme>

The transmission scheme for a 3D program transmitted from thetransmission device 1 can be roughly divided into two schemes. One is ascheme that stores videos for the right eye and the left eye in oneimage utilizing an existing 2D program broadcasting scheme. This schemeemploys existing MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts Group 2) or H.264 AVC asthe video compression scheme and has a features that it is compatiblewith existing broadcasting, can use an existing relay infrastructure andcan be received by an existing receiver (STB or the like), but 3D videois transmitted with resolution half the highest resolution of existingbroadcasting (in vertical direction or horizontal direction). As shownin FIG. 39(a), examples of such a scheme include a “side-by-side” schemewhereby one image is divided into left and right halves and the dividedimages are accommodated in a screen whose widths in the horizontaldirection of video (L) for the left eye and video (R) for the right eyeare approximately half the width of the 2D program and whose width inthe vertical direction is equal to the width of the 2D program, a“top-and-bottom” scheme whereby one image is divided into upper andlower halves and the divided images are accommodated in a screen whosewidths in the horizontal direction of a video (L) for the left eye and avideo (R) for the right eye are equal to the width of the 2D program andwhose width in the vertical direction is approximately half the width ofthe 2D program, a “field alternative” scheme whereby images areaccommodated using another interlace, a “line alternative” schemewhereby video for the left eye and video for the right eye areaccommodated alternately for every one scan line, and a “left+depth”scheme storing information on a two-dimensional (one-side) video anddepth (distance up to an object) per pixel of video. These schemesdivide one image into a plurality of images and store images of aplurality of viewpoints and thus have a merit that the coding schemeitself can use coding schemes such as MPEG2 and H.264 AVC (except MVC)which are originally not multi-viewpoint video coding schemes withoutany modification and can perform 3D program broadcasting making the mostof the broadcasting scheme of the existing 2D program. When, forexample, a 2D program can be transmitted in a screen having a maximumsize of 1920 dots in the horizontal direction and 1080 lines in thevertical direction, if 3D program broadcasting is performed using the“side-by-side” scheme, one image may be divided into left and righthalves and the images may be transmitted accommodated in a screen havinga size of 960 dots in the horizontal direction and 1080 lines in thevertical direction corresponding to video (L) for the left eye and video(R) for the right eye respectively. Similarly, when 3D programbroadcasting is performed using the “top-and-bottom” scheme in thiscase, one image may be divided into left and right halves and the imagesmay be transmitted accommodated in a screen having a size of 1920 dotsin the horizontal direction and 540 lines in the vertical direction.

Another scheme is a scheme whereby video for the left eye and video forthe right eye are transmitted in different streams (ESs). In the presentembodiment, such a scheme is called “2-viewpoint in respective ESstransmission.” One example of this scheme is a transmission scheme basedon H.264 MVC which is a multi-viewpoint video coding scheme. A featurethereof is the ability to transmit 3D video with high resolution. Use ofthis scheme has an effect that 3D video can be transmitted with highresolution. The multi-viewpoint video coding scheme is a coding schemestandardized to code multi-viewpoint video, which can codemulti-viewpoint video without dividing one image for every viewpoint andcodes a different image for every viewpoint.

When transmitting 3D video using this scheme, the video may betransmitted by assuming, for example, a coded image with a viewpoint forthe left eye as a main viewpoint image and assuming a coded image with aviewpoint for the right eye as a different viewpoint image. This makesit possible to maintain compatibility with the broadcasting scheme ofthe existing 2D program for the main viewpoint image. For example, whenH.264 MVC is used as a multi-viewpoint video coding scheme, the mainviewpoint image can maintain compatibility with H.264 AVC 2D images forH.264 MVC base substreams and the main viewpoint image can be displayedas a 2D image.

Furthermore, suppose the following schemes are also included as otherexamples of the “3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmission scheme.”

Another example of the “3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmissionscheme” is a scheme whereby a coded image for the left eye is codedusing MPEG2 as a main viewpoint image and a coded image for the righteye is coded using H.264 AVC as a different viewpoint image to make thetwo images different streams. According to this scheme, since the mainviewpoint image becomes MPEG2 compatible and can be displayed as a 2Dimage, it is possible to maintain compatibility with the broadcastingscheme of the existing 2D program for which coded images using MPEG2 arewidely used.

A further example of the “3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmissionscheme” is a scheme whereby a coded image for the left eye is codedusing MPEG2 as a main viewpoint image and a coded image for the righteye is coded using MPEG2 as a different viewpoint image to make the twoimages different streams. According to this scheme, the main viewpointimage also becomes MPEG2 compatible and can be displayed as a 2D image,and it is thereby possible to maintain compatibility with thebroadcasting scheme of the existing 2D program for which coded imagesusing MPEG2 are widely used.

A still further example of the “3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESstransmission scheme” may be a scheme whereby a coded image for the lefteye is coded using H.264 AVC or H.264 MVC as a main viewpoint image anda coded image for the right eye is coded using MPEG2 as a differentviewpoint image.

Besides the “3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmission scheme,”using even a coding scheme such as MPEG2 or H.264 AVC (except MVC) whichis not a coding scheme originally defined as a multi-viewpoint videocoding scheme, it is possible to realize 3D transmission by generatingstreams that alternately store video for the left eye and frame for theright eye.

<Program Information>

Program specific information and program array information are called“program information.”

The program specific information is also called “PSI” which isinformation necessary to select a required program and is made up offour tables; PAT (Program Association Table) that specifies a packetidentifier of a TS packet for transmitting a PMT (Program Map Table)associated with a broadcasting program, a PMT that specifies a packetidentifier of a TS packet for transmitting each coded signal making up abroadcasting program and specifies a packet identifier of a TS packetfor transmitting common information out of information associated withchargeable broadcasting, a NIT (Network Information Table) thattransmits information that associates information on a transmission pathsuch as modulation frequency with a broadcasting program, and a CAT(Conditional Access Table) that specifies a packet identifier of a TSpacket for transmitting individual information out of informationassociated with chargeable broadcasting, and is defined in the MPEG2system standard. The program specific information includes, for example,video coding information, audio coded information and programconfiguration. In the present invention, the program specificinformation additionally includes information indicating whether videois 3D or not or the like. The PSI is added by the management informationadding unit 16.

The program array information is also called “SI (Service Information)”which is various types of information defined for convenience of programselection, also includes PSI information of the MPEG-2 system standard,and includes EIT (Event Information Table) that describes informationassociated with the program such as program name, broadcasting date andtime, program contents, and SDT (Service Description Table) thatdescribes information associated with organized channel (service) suchas organized channel name, broadcasting provider name.

For example, the program array information includes informationindicating the configuration of a program currently being broadcast ornext program to be broadcast, service format or configurationinformation of programs for a week, and such information is added by themanagement information adding unit 16.

The program information includes components of the program informationsuch as a component descriptor, component group descriptor, 3D programdetail descriptor, service descriptor, service list descriptor. Thesedescriptors are described in tables such as PMT, EIT [schedulebasic/schedule extended/present/following], NIT and SDT.

Regarding how to use different tables of PMT and EIT, for example, PMTdescribes only information of a program currently being broadcast, andso information on programs to be broadcast in the future cannot bechecked. However, the transmission period from the transmitting side isshort and PMT has a feature of having high reliability in the sense thatit is information on the program currently being broadcast, and it istherefore not changed. On the other hand, EIT [schedule basic/scheduleextended] can acquire information of up to 7 days ahead in addition tothe program currently being broadcast, but since the transmission periodfrom the transmitting side is longer than that of PMT, EIT has demeritsthat a greater storage area is required for storing the information andits reliability is low in the sense that EIT deals with future eventswhich may be possibly changed. EIT [following] can acquire informationon a program of the next broadcasting time.

PMT of the program specific information uses a table structure definedin ISO/IEC 13818-1 and can indicate the format of an ES of the programbeing broadcast according to stream_type (stream format type) which is8-bit information described in its 2nd loop (loop per ES (ElementaryStream)). According to the embodiment of the present invention, thenumber of ES formats is increased compared to the conventional art andassigns an ES format of the program to be broadcast as shown in FIG. 3,for example.

First, regarding a base-view subbit stream (main viewpoint) ofmulti-viewpoint video coding (e.g., H.264/MVC) stream, 0x1B identical toan AVC video stream defined in existing ITU-T RecommendationH.264|ISO/IEC 14496-10 video is assigned. Next, a subbit stream(different viewpoint) of multi-viewpoint video coding stream (e.g.,H.264 MVC) that can be used for a 3D video program is assigned to 0x20.

Furthermore, regarding an H262 (MPEG2)-based base-view bit stream (mainviewpoint) when used for a “3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESstransmission scheme” that transmits a plurality of viewpoints of 3Dvideo through a different stream, 0x02 identical to the existing ITU-TRecommendation H.262|ISO/IEC 13818-2 video is assigned. Here, the H.262(MPEG2)-based base-view bit stream (main viewpoint) when transmitting aplurality of viewpoints of 3D video in different streams is a streamresulting from coding only video of a main viewpoint out of video of aplurality of viewpoints of 3D video using the H.262 (MPEG2) scheme.

Furthermore, a bit stream of another viewpoint of the H.262 (MPEG2)scheme when transmitting a plurality of viewpoints of 3D video indifferent streams is assigned to 0x21.

Furthermore, a bit stream of another viewpoint of the AVC stream definedin ITU-T Recommendation H.264|ISO/IEC 14496-10 video when transmitting aplurality of viewpoints of 3D video in different streams is assigned to0x22.

The description here assumes that a subbit stream of multi-viewpointvideo coding stream that can be used for a 3D video program is assignedto 0x20, a bit stream of another viewpoint of the H.262 (MPEG2) schemewhen transmitting a plurality of viewpoints of 3D video in differentstreams is assigned to 0x21, and an AVC stream defined in ITU-TRecommendation H.264|ISO/IEC 14496-10 video when transmitting aplurality of viewpoints of 3D video in different streams is assigned to0x22, but these streams may also be assigned to any one of 0x23 to 0x7E.Furthermore, the MVC video stream is only an example, and any videostream other than H.264/MVC may be used as long as it indicates amulti-viewpoint video coding stream that can be used for a 3D videoprogram.

As described above, when a broadcasting provider on the transmissiondevice 1 side transmits (broadcasts) a 3D program, by assigningstream_type (stream format type) bits, the embodiment of the presentinvention allows the 3D program to be transmitted in combinations ofstreams as shown, for example, in FIG. 47.

In combination example 1, a base-view subbit stream (main viewpoint)(stream format type 0x1B) of a multi-viewpoint video coding (e.g.,H.264/MVC) stream is transmitted as the main viewpoint video stream (forthe left eye), and another viewpoint subbit stream (stream format type0x20) of the multi-viewpoint video coding (e.g., H.264/MVC) stream istransmitted as the sub-viewpoint video stream (for the right eye).

In this case, multi-viewpoint video coding (e.g., H.264/MVC)-basedstreams are used for both the main viewpoint (for the left eye) videostream and the sub-viewpoint video stream (for the right eye). Themulti-viewpoint video coding (e.g., H.264 MVC) scheme is a schemeoriginally designed to transmit multi-viewpoint video and can transmit a3D program most efficiently among combination examples in FIG. 47.

Furthermore, when displaying (outputting) a 3D program in 3D, thereception device can play back the 3D program by processing both themain viewpoint video stream (for the left eye) and sub-viewpoint videostream (for the right eye).

When displaying (outputting) a 3D program in 2D, the reception devicecan display (output) the 3D program as a 2D program by processing onlythe main viewpoint video stream (for the left eye).

Since the multi-viewpoint coding scheme H.264/MVC base-view subbitstream is compatible with the existing H.264/AVC (except MVC) videostream, assigning both stream format types to identical 0x1B as shown inFIG. 3 provides the following effect. That is, this is an effect thateven when the reception device having no function of displaying(outputting) a 3D program in 3D receives the 3D program of combinationexample 1, if the reception device has only a function of displaying(outputting) a video stream (AVC video stream defined in ITU-TRecommendation H.264|ISO/IEC 14496-10 video) of the existing H.264/AVC(except MVC), it is possible to recognize the main viewpoint videostream (for the left eye) of the program as a stream similar to theexisting H.264/AVC (except MVC) video stream based on the stream formattype and display (output) the video stream as a normal 2D program.

Furthermore, since a non-conventional stream format type is assigned tothe sub-viewpoint video stream (for the right eye), this is ignored bythe existing reception device. This allows the existing reception deviceto prevent display (output) unintended on the broadcasting station sidefor the sub-viewpoint video stream (for the right eye).

Therefore, even when broadcasting of the 3D program in combinationexample 1 is newly started, it is possible to avoid a situation that theexisting reception device having the function of displaying (outputting)a video stream of the existing H.264/AVC (except MVC) cannot display(output) the video stream. Even when the 3D program broadcasting isnewly started in broadcasting that is run with advertisement revenuessuch as a CM (commercial message), this allows the user to view theprogram using even a reception device not supporting the 3D display(output) function, and can thereby avoid the audience rate from loweringdue to limitations of the function of the reception device and provide amerit on the broadcasting station side, too.

In combination example 2, when a plurality of viewpoints of 3D video aretransmitted in different streams, an H.262 (MPEG2)-based base-view bitstream (main viewpoint) (stream format type 0x02) is transmitted as themain viewpoint video stream (for the left eye), and when a plurality ofviewpoints of 3D video are transmitted in different streams, an AVCstream (stream format type 0x22) defined in ITU-T RecommendationH.264|ISO/IEC 14496-10 video is transmitted as the sub-viewpoint videostream (for the right eye).

As in the case of combination example 1, when a 3D program is displayed(outputted) in 3D, the reception device can play back the 3D program byprocessing both the main viewpoint video stream (for the left eye) andthe sub-viewpoint video stream (for the right eye). When displaying(outputting) the 3D program in 2D, the reception device can display(output) the 3D program as a 2D program by processing only the mainviewpoint video stream (for the left eye).

Furthermore, by using a stream compatible with the existing ITU-TRecommendation H.262|ISO/IEC 13818-2 video stream for the base-view bitstream (main viewpoint) of the H.262 (MPEG2) scheme when a plurality ofviewpoints of 3D video are transmitted in different streams andassigning both stream format types to identical 0x1B as shown in FIG. 3,any reception device that has the function of displaying (outputting)the existing ITU-T Recommendation H.262|ISO/IEC 13818-2 video stream,and even one that has no 3D display (output) function, can display(output) the 3D program as a 2D program.

Furthermore, as in the case of combination example 1, since anon-conventional stream format type is assigned to the sub-viewpointvideo stream (for the right eye), it is ignored by the existingreception device. This allows the existing reception device to preventdisplay (output) unintended by the broadcasting station side about thesub-viewpoint video stream (for the right eye).

Since reception devices having a display (output) function of existingITU-T Recommendation H.262|ISO/IEC 13818-2 video stream are widely used,it is possible to more efficiently prevent the audience rate fromdropping due to restrictions on the function of the reception devicesand realize the broadcasting most preferable to the broadcastingstation.

Furthermore, using an AVC stream (stream format type 0x22) defined inthe ITU-T Recommendation H.264|ISO/IEC 14496-10 video for thesub-viewpoint video stream (for the right eye) makes it possible totransmit the sub-viewpoint video stream (for the right eye) with highcompressibility.

That is, according to combination example 2, it is possible to makecommercial merits of the broadcasting station compatible with technicalmerits through high efficiency transmission.

In combination example 3, a base-view bit stream (main viewpoint)(stream format type 0x02) of the H.262 (MPEG2) scheme when a pluralityof viewpoints of 3D video are transmitted in different streams istransmitted as the main viewpoint video stream (for the left eye) andanother viewpoint bit stream (stream format type 0x21) of the H.262(MPEG2) scheme when a plurality of viewpoints of 3D video aretransmitted in different streams is transmitted as the sub-viewpointvideo stream (for the right eye).

In this case, as in the case of combination example 3, any receptiondevice that has the function of displaying (outputting) the existingITU-T Recommendation H.262|ISO/IEC 13818-2 video stream, and even onethat has no 3D display (output) function, can display (output) the 3Dprogram as a 2D program.

In addition to the commercial merit of further preventing the audiencerate from dropping due to restrictions on the function of the receptiondevice, unifying the coding scheme of the main viewpoint video stream(for the left eye) and that of the sub-viewpoint video stream (for theright eye) into the H.262 (MPEG2) scheme makes it possible to simplifythe hardware configuration of the video decoding function of thereception apparatus.

As shown in combination example 4, it is also possible to transmit abase-view subbit stream (main viewpoint) (stream format type 0x1B) of amulti-viewpoint video coding (e.g., H.264/MVC) stream as the mainviewpoint video stream (for the left eye) and transmit another viewpointbit stream (stream format type 0x21) of the H.262 (MPEG2) scheme when aplurality of viewpoints of 3D video are transmitted in different streamsas the sub-viewpoint video stream (for the right eye).

In the combinations in FIG. 47, instead of the base-view subbit stream(main viewpoint) (stream format type 0x1B) of the multi-viewpoint videocoding (e.g., H.264/MVC) stream, using an AVC video stream (streamformat type 0x1B) defined in the ITU-T Recommendation H.264|ISO/IEC14496-10 video may also achieve a similar effect.

Furthermore, in the combinations in FIG. 47, instead of the base-viewbit stream (main viewpoint) of the H.262 (MPEG2) scheme when a pluralityof viewpoints of 3D video are transmitted in different streams, using anITU-T Recommendation H.262|ISO/IEC 13818-2 video stream (stream formattype 0x1B) may also achieve a similar effect.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the structure of a component descriptor whichis one element of the program information. The component descriptorindicates the type of a component (element making up a program such asvideo, sound, character, various types of data) and is also used toexpress an elementary stream in a character format. This descriptor isarranged in PMT and/or EIT.

The component descriptor has the following meanings. That is,descriptor_tag has an 8-bit field describing a value that allows thisdescriptor to be identified as a component descriptor. Descriptor_lengthhas an 8-bit field describing the size of this descriptor.Stream_content (component contents) has a 4-bit field indicating thetype of a stream (video, sound, data) and is coded according to FIG. 4.Component_type (component type) has an 8-bit field defining the type ofcomponent such as field, video, sound, data and is coded according toFIG. 4. Component_tag (component tag) has an 8-bit field. A componentstream of a service can refer to the description contents (FIG. 5)indicated by the component descriptor using this 8-bit field.

In a program map section, values of component tags given to respectivestreams should have different values. The component tag is a label toidentify a component stream and has the same value as the component tagin the stream identification descriptor (however, when the streamidentification descriptor exists within PMT). The 24-bit field ofIS0_639_language_code (language code) identifies the language of acomponent (sound or data) and the language of a character descriptioncontained in this descriptor.

The language code is represented by an alphabetical 3-character codedefined in ISO 639-2(22). Each character is coded with 8 bits accordingto ISO 8859-1(24) and inserted into a 24-bit field in that order. Forexample, Japanese is “jpn” in an alphabetical 3-character code and codedas “0110 1010 0111 0000 0110 1110”. Text_char (component description)has an 8-bit field. A series of component description fields defines thecharacter description of a component stream.

FIGS. 5(a) to (e) show examples of stream_content (component contents)and component_type (component type) which are components of thecomponent descriptor. 0x01 of the component contents shown in FIG. 5(a)represents various video formats of a video stream compressed in anMPEG2 format.

0x05 of the component contents shown in FIG. 5(b) represents variousvideo formats of a video stream compressed in an H.264 AVC format. 0x06of the component contents shown in FIG. 5(c) represents various videoformats of a 3D video stream compressed in a multi-viewpoint videocoding (e.g., H.264 MVC format).

0x07 of the component contents shown in FIG. 5(d) represents variousvideo formats of a side-by-side format stream of 3D video compressed inan MPEG2 or H.264 AVC format. In this example, the component contentshave the same value between the MPEG2 and H.264 AVC formats, butdifferent values may also be set between MPEG2 and H.264 AVC.

0x08 of the component contents shown in FIG. 5(e) represents variousvideo formats of a stream in a top-and-bottom format of 3D videocompressed in the MPEG2 or H.264 AVC format. In this example, thecomponent contents have the same value between the MPEG2 and H.264 AVCformats, but different values may also be set between MPEG2 and H.264AVC.

As shown in FIG. 5(d) and FIG. 5(e), by adopting a configuration showinga combination of whether video is 3D or not, scheme of 3D video,resolution, aspect ratio according to the combination of stream_content(component contents) and component type (component type) which arecomponents of the component descriptor, it is possible to transmitvarious types of video mode information including identification of 2Dprogram/3D program with a small amount of transmission even in the caseof 3D and 2D mixed broadcasting.

Particularly when a 3D video program is transmitted by including imagesof a plurality of viewpoints in one image of a side-by-side format,top-and-bottom format or the like using a coding scheme such as MPEG2,H.264 AVC (except MVC) which are not the coding schemes originallydefined as multi-viewpoint video coding schemes, it is difficult todistinguish whether transmission is performed by including images of aplurality of viewpoints in one image for the 3D video program or anormal image of one viewpoint, based on only the aforementionedstream_type (stream format type). In this case, the program may identifyvarious video schemes including 2D program/3D program identificationusing a combination of stream_content (component contents) andcomponent_type (component type). Furthermore, by delivering componentdescriptors regarding a program currently being broadcast or to bebroadcast in the future using EIT and by the reception device 4acquiring EIT, it is possible to create EPG (program table), and createEPG information as to whether video is 3D video or not, scheme of 3Dvideo, resolution, aspect ratio, whether video is 3D video or not. Thereception device has a merit that such information can be displayed in(outputted to) EPG

As described above, the reception device 4 monitors stream_content andcomponent_type, and thereby provides an effect that it is possible torecognize that a program currently being received or received in thefuture is a 3D program.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the structure of a component group descriptorwhich is one element of the program information. The component groupdescriptor defines and identifies a combination of components in anevent. That is, the component group descriptor describes groupinginformation of a plurality of components. This descriptor is arranged inEIT.

The component group descriptor has the following meanings. That is,descriptor_tag is an 8-bit field describing a value that allows thisdescriptor to be identified as a component group descriptor.Descriptor_length has an 8-bit field describing the size of thisdescriptor. Component_group_type (component group type) has a 3-bitfield representing the group type of a component according to FIG. 7.

Here, 001 represents a 3D TV service and is distinguished from amulti-view TV service of 000. Here, the “multi-view TV service” is a TVservice that can display 2D video of a plurality of viewpoints by beingswitched for each viewpoint. For example, in a multi-viewpoint videocoding video stream or a stream of a coding scheme which is not a codingscheme originally defined as a multi-viewpoint video coding scheme,there may also be a case where a stream transmitted by including imagesof a plurality of viewpoints in one screen is used not only for a 3Dvideo program but also for a multi-view TV program. In this case, evenwhen the stream includes multi-viewpoint video, it may not be possibleto identify whether a program is a 3D video program or multi-view TVprogram based on only aforementioned stream_type (stream format type).In such a case, identification by component_group_type (component grouptype) is effective. Total_bit_rate_flag (total bit rate flag) is a 1-bitflag indicating the description state of a total bit rate in a componentgroup in an event. When this bit is “0,” this means that the total bitrate field in the component group does not exist in the descriptor. Whenthis bit is “1,” this means that the total bit rate field in thecomponent group exists in the descriptor. Num_of_group (number ofgroups) has a 4-bit field representing the number of component groups inan event.

Component_group_id (component group identification) has a 4-bit fielddescribing component group identification according to FIG. 8.Num_of_CA_unit (number of charging units) has a 4-bit field representingthe number of charging/non-charging units in the component group.CA_unit_id (charging unit identification) has a 4-bit field describingidentification of the charging unit to which the component belongsaccording to FIG. 9.

Num_of_component (number of components) has a 4-bit field representingthe number of components that belong to the component group and alsobelong to the charging/non-charging unit indicated by immediatelypreceding CA_unit_id. Component_tag (component tag) has an 8-bit fieldrepresenting the value of a component tag that belongs to the componentgroup.

Total_bit_rate (total bit rate) has an 8-bit field describing the totalbit rate of a component in a component group by rounding up thetransmission rate of a transport stream packet every ¼ Mbps. Text_length(component group description length) has an 8-bit field representing thebyte length of the following component group description. Text_char(component group description) has an 8-bit field. A series of characterinformation fields describes a description regarding the componentgroup.

As described above, the reception device 4 monitors component_group_typeand thereby provides an effect that it is possible to recognize that aprogram currently being received or to be received in the future is a 3Dprogram.

Next, an example where a new descriptor representing information on the3D program will be described. FIG. 10(a) shows an example of thestructure of a 3D program detail descriptor which is one element of theprogram information. The 3D program detail descriptor indicates detailedinformation when a program is a 3D program and is used to make adecision on the 3D program in the receiver or the like. This descriptoris arranged in PMT and/or EIT. The 3D program detail descriptor maycoexist with stream_content (component contents) or component_type(component type) for the 3D video program shown in FIGS. 5(c) to (e)already described above. However, a configuration may also be adopted inwhich the 3D program detail descriptor is transmitted, whereasstream_content (component contents) or component_type (component type)for the 3D video program is not transmitted. The 3D program detaildescriptor has the following meanings. Next, descriptor_tag has an 8-bitfield describing a value that allows this descriptor to be identified asa 3D program detail descriptor (e.g., 0xE1). Descriptor_length has an8-bit field describing the size of this descriptor.

3d_2d_type (3D/2D type) has an 8-bit field representing the type of 3Dvideo/2D video in the 3D program according to FIG. 10(b). This fieldprovides information to identify whether video is 3D video or 2D videoin such a 3D program that a program main part is 3D video andcommercials or the like inserted in the middle of the program are madeup of 2D video, and is arranged for the purpose of preventingmisoperation in the reception device (problem with display (output) thatmay occur when the reception device is performing 3D processing butbroadcasting program is 2D video). 0x01 represents 3D video and 0x02represents 2D video.

3d_method_type (3D mode type) has an 8-bit field representing a 3D modetype according to FIG. 11. 0x01 represents “3D 2-viewpoint in respectiveESs transmission scheme,” 0x02 represents side-by-side scheme, 0x03represents top-and-bottom scheme. Stream_type (stream format type) hasan 8-bit field representing the ES format of the program according toFIG. 3 described above.

A configuration may also be adopted in which the 3D program detaildescriptor is transmitted in the case of a 3D video program, but nottransmitted in the case of a 2D video program. This makes it possible toidentify whether the program is 2D video program or 3D video programonly based on the presence or absence of transmission of the 3D programdetail descriptor.

Component_tag (component tag) has an 8-bit field. The component streamof the service can refer to the description contents (FIG. 5) shown bythe component descriptor using this 8-bit field. In the program mapsection, the values of the component tag given to the respective streamsshould be different values. The component tag is a label to identify thecomponent stream and has the same value as the component tag in thestream identification descriptor (provided that the streamidentification descriptor exists in PMT).

As described above, monitoring the 3D program detail descriptor by thereception device 4 provides, if this descriptor exists, an effect thatit is possible to recognize that a program currently being received orreceived in the future is a 3D program. In addition, when the program isa 3D program, it is possible to recognize the type of the 3Dtransmission scheme and when 3D video and 2D video coexist,identification thereof is possible.

Next, an example will be described where identification of 3D video or2D video is performed in service (organized channel) units. FIG. 12shows an example of the structure of a service descriptor which is oneelement of the program information. The service descriptor representsthe name of an organized channel and the name of the provider togetherwith the service format type using a character code. This descriptor isarranged in SDT.

The service descriptor has the following meanings. That is, service_type(service format type) has an 8-bit field representing the type of aservice according to FIG. 13. 0x01 represents a 3D video service. The8-bit field of service_provider_name_length (provider name length)represents the byte length of the provider name that follows. Char(character code) has an 8-bit field. A series of character informationfields represents the provider name or service name. The 8-bit field ofservice_name_length (service name length) represents the byte length ofthe service name that follows.

As described above, monitoring service_type by the reception device 4provides an effect that it is possible to recognize that a service(organized channel) is a channel of a 3D program. Thus, if it ispossible to identify whether a service (organized channel) is 3D videoservice or a 2D video service, it is possible to display, for example,that the service is a 3D video program broadcasting service or the likeusing an EPG display or the like. However, even with a service that isbroadcasting mainly 3D video programs, there can also be a case where 2Dvideo must be broadcast, for example, when only 2D video is available asthe source for advertisement video. Therefore, identification of a 3Dvideo service using service_type (service format type) of the servicedescriptor is preferably used together with identification of a 3D videoprogram using a combination of stream_content (component contents) andcomponent_type (component type) which has already been described,identification of 3D video program using component_group_type (componentgroup type) or identification of a 3D video program using a 3D programdetail descriptor. When identification is performed by combining aplurality of pieces of information, it is also possible to identify thatalthough the service is a 3D video broadcasting service, only someprograms are provided as 2D video. In the case that such identificationis possible, the reception device can clearly demonstrate, for example,in EPG that the service is a “3D video broadcasting service” and evenwhen a 2D video program is mixed with the service besides the 3D videoprogram, it is possible to switch display control or the like betweenthe 3D video program and the 2D video program if necessary when theprogram is received or the like.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the structure of a service list descriptorwhich is one element of the program information. The service listdescriptor provides a list of services based on service identificationand the service format type. That is, the service list descriptordescribes a list of organized channels and their types. This descriptoris arranged in NIT.

The service list descriptor has the following meanings. That is,service_id (service identification) has a 16-bit field uniquelyidentifying an information service within its transport stream. Serviceidentification is equal to broadcasting program number identification(program_number) within the corresponding program map section.Service_type (service format type) has an 8-bit field representing thetype of a service according to FIG. 12 described above.

Such service_type (service format type) makes it possible to identifywhether the service is a “3D video broadcasting service” or not, andthereby perform a display that groups only “3D video broadcastingservices” in EPG display using, for example, the organized channelindicated in the service list descriptor and the list of types.

As described above, monitoring service_type by the reception device 4provides an effect that it is possible to recognize that the organizedchannel is a 3D program channel.

The examples of the descriptors described above only describe typicalmembers, and it is also conceivable to have other members, bringtogether a plurality of members or divide one member into a plurality ofmembers having detailed information.

<Example of Program Information Transmission Operation Rule>

The above-described component descriptor, component group descriptor, 3Dprogram detail descriptor, service descriptor and service listdescriptor of the program information are information generated andadded, for example, by the management information adding unit 16, storedin PSI of MPEG-TS (for example, PMT) or SI (for example, EIT, SDT orNIT) and transmitted from the transmission device 1.

An example of the program information transmission operation rule in thetransmission device 1 will be described below.

FIG. 15 shows an example of transmission processing of the componentdescriptor in the transmission device 1. “0x50” which means a componentdescriptor is described in “descriptor_tag.” The descriptor length ofthe component descriptor is described in “descriptor_length.” A maximumvalue of the descriptor length is not defined. “0x01” (video) isdescribed in “stream_content.”

The video component type of the component is described in“component_type.” The component type is set from FIG. 5. A component tagvalue which is unique within the program is described in“component_tag.” “Jpn (“0x6A706E”)” is described in“ISO_639_language_code.”

“Text_char” is described in 16 or fewer bytes (8 full size characters)as a video type name when a plurality of video components exist. No linefeed code is used. When the component description is a default characterstring, this field can be omitted. The default character string is“video.”

One “text_char” must be transmitted to all video components havingcomponent_tag values of 0x00 to 0x0F included in an event (program).

Performing transmission operation by the transmission device 1 andmonitoring stream_content and component_type by the reception device 4in this way provides an effect that it is possible to recognize that aprogram currently being received or received in the future is a 3Dprogram.

FIG. 16 shows an example of transmission processing of the componentgroup descriptor in the transmission device 1.

“0x9” which means the component group descriptor is described in“descriptor_tag.” The descriptor length of the component groupdescriptor is described in “descriptor_length.” No maximum value of thedescriptor length is defined. “Component_group_type” shows the type ofthe component group. ‘000’ indicates a multi-view television and ‘001’indicates 3D television.

“Total_bit_rate_flag” indicates ‘0’ when all total bit rates in a groupin an event are default values, and ‘1’ when any one of total bit ratesin a group in an event exceeds a specified default value.

The number of component groups in an event is described in“num_of_group.” “Num_of_group” is set to maximum 3 in the case ofmulti-view television (MV TV) and set to maximum 2 in the case of 3Dtelevision (3D TV).

Component group identification is described in “component_group_id.”“0x0” is assigned in the case of a main group and a broadcastingprovider assigns a unique value in an event in the case of eachsubgroup.

The number of charging/non-charging units in the component group isdescribed in “num_of_CA_unit.” Suppose the maximum value is 2.“Num_of_CA_unit” is set to “0x1” when no component to be charged isincluded in the component group.

Charging unit identification is described in “CA_unit_id.” Thebroadcasting provider assigns “CA_unit_id” which is unique in an event.The number of components that belong to the component group and alsobelong to the charging/non-charging unit indicated by the immediatelypreceding “CA_unit_id” is described in “num_of component.” Suppose amaximum value thereof is 15.

A value of a component tag that belongs to a component group isdescribed in “component_tag.” A total bit rate in the component group isdescribed in “total_bit_rate.” However, “0x00” is described therein inthe case of a default value.

A byte length of a component group description that follows is describedin “text_length.” Suppose a maximum value thereof is 16 (8 full sizecharacters). A description regarding a component group is must bedescribed in “text_char.” No default character string is defined. Noline feed code is used either.

When a multi-view television service is performed,“component_group_type” must be set to ‘000’ and transmitted.Furthermore, when a 3D television service is performed,“component_group_type” must be set to ‘001’ and transmitted.

Performing transmission operation by the transmission device 1 andmonitoring component_group_type by the reception device 4 in this wayprovides an effect that it is possible to recognize that a programcurrently being received or received in the future is a 3D program.

FIG. 17 shows an example of transmission processing on a 3D programdetail descriptor by the transmission device 1. “0xE1” which means a 3Dprogram detail descriptor is described in “descriptor_tag.” Thedescriptor length of a 3D program detail descriptor is described in“descriptor_length.” 3D/2D identification is described in “3d_2d_type.”This is set from FIG. 10 (b). 3D mode identification is described in“3d_method_type.” This is set from FIG. 11. The format of ES of theprogram is described in “stream_type.” This is set from FIG. 3. Acomponent tag value which is unique in the program is described in“component_tag.”

Performing transmission operation by the transmission device 1 andmonitoring a 3D program detail descriptor by the reception device 4 inthis way provides an effect that if this descriptor exists, it ispossible to recognize that a program currently being received orreceived in the future is a 3D program.

FIG. 18 shows an example of transmission processing on a servicedescriptor by the transmission device 1. “0x48” which means a servicedescriptor is described in “descriptor_tag.” The descriptor length ofthe service descriptor is described in “descriptor_length.” A serviceformat type is described in “service_type.”

The service format type is set from FIG. 13. The provider name length isdescribed in “service_provider_name_length” in the case of BS/CS digitaltelevision broadcasting. Suppose a maximum value thereof is 20. “0x00”is described therein because service_provider_name is not used indigital terrestrial television broadcasting.

The provider name is described in “char” in the case of BS/CS digitaltelevision broadcasting. The provider name is described in a maximum of10 full size characters. Nothing is described in the case of digitalterrestrial television broadcasting. An organized channel name length isdescribed in “service_name_length.” Suppose a maximum value thereof is20. An organized channel name is described in “char.” The organizedchannel name is described in 20 or fewer bytes and in 10 or fewer fullsize characters. Only one organized channel name must be arranged for achannel to be organized.

Performing transmission operation by the transmission device 1 andmonitoring service_type by the reception device 4 in this way providesan effect that it is possible to recognize that the organized channel isa 3D program channel.

FIG. 19 shows an example of transmission processing on a service listdescriptor by the transmission device 1. “0x41” which means a servicelist descriptor is described in “descriptor_tag.” The descriptor lengthof the service list descriptor is described in “descriptor_length.” Aloop with a number of services included in a target transport stream isdescribed in “loop.”

Service_id included in the transport stream is described in“service_id.” A service type of a target service is described in“service_type.” The service type is set from FIG. 13. These must bearranged for a TS loop in NIT.

Performing transmission operation by the transmission device 1 andmonitoring service_type by the reception device 4 in this way providesan effect that it is possible to recognize that the organized channel isa 3D program channel.

Transmission examples of the program information by the transmissiondevice 1 have been described so far. When a program is switched from a2D program to a 3D program, on a first screen from which the 3D programstarts and using a telop or the like, messages like “a 3D program startsfrom now,” “3D viewing glasses should be worn for viewing in 3Ddisplay,” “2D display view is recommended if your eyes are tired or yourphysical condition is not good,” “viewing a 3D program for a long timemay cause your eyes to be tired or your physical condition to worsen” orthe like are inserted in the video of the 3D program created by thetransmission device 1 and transmitted, which provides a merit that it ispossible to give a caution or warning of the 3D program viewing to theuser who watches the 3D program using the reception device 4.

<Hardware Configuration of Reception Device>

FIG. 25 is a hardware configuration diagram illustrating a configurationexample of the reception device 4 of the system in FIG. 1. Referencenumeral 21 denotes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls theentire receiver, 22 denotes a general-purpose bus for controlling andtransmitting information between the CPU 21 and the respective sectionsin the reception device, 23 denotes a tuner that receives a broadcastingsignal transmitted from the transmission device 1 via a broadcastingtransmission network of radio (satellite, terrestrial), cable or thelike, tunes into a specific frequency, demodulates, performs errorcorrecting processing or the like and outputs a multiplexed packet suchas MPEG2-Transport Stream (hereinafter also referred to as TS), 24denotes a descrambler that decodes a signal scrambled by the scramblingunit 13, 25 denotes a network I/F (Interface) that transmits/receivesinformation to/from a network and transmits/receives various types ofinformation and MPEG2-TS between the Internet and the reception device,26 denotes a recording medium such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive) incorporatedin the reception device 4, flash memory or removable HDD, disk typerecording medium, flash memory, 27 denotes a recording/playback unitthat controls the recording medium 26 and controls signal recording ontothe recording medium 26 or signal playback from the recording medium 26,and 29 denotes a demultiplexing unit that demultiplexes a signalmultiplexed in a format such as MPEG2-TS into a signal such as video ES(Elementary Stream), sound ES or program information. “ES” refers tocompressed/coded image and/or sound data. Reference numeral 30 denotes avideo decoding unit that decodes video ES into a video signal, 31denotes a sound decoding unit that decodes sound ES into an audio signaland outputs the audio signal to a speaker 48 or outputs the audio signalfrom an audio output 42, 32 denotes a video conversion processing unitthat performs processing of converting a 3D or 2D video signal decodedby the video decoding unit 30 to a predetermined format throughconversion processing which will be described later according to aninstruction from the CPU, processing of superimposing a display such asOSD (On Screen Display) created by the CPU 21 on the video signal,outputs the processed video signal to a display 47 or a video signaloutput 41 and outputs a synchronous signal or control signal (used formachine control) corresponding to the format of the processed videosignal from the video signal output 41 and the control signal output 43,33 denotes a control signal transmission/reception unit that receives anoperational input from a user operational input 45 (e.g., key code froma remote controller that transmits an IR (Infrared Radiation) signal)and transmits a machine control signal (e.g., IR) to an external devicegenerated by the CPU 21 or video conversion processing unit 32 from themachine control signal transmission unit 44, 34 denotes a timer thatincorporates a counter and maintains a current time, 46 denotes ahigh-speed digital I/F such as serial interface or IP interface thatperforms necessary processing such as encryption on TS reconfigured inthe demultiplexing unit, outputs TS to the outside or decodes TSreceived from the outside and inputs the decoded TS to thedemultiplexing unit 29, 47 denotes the display that displays 3D videoand 2D video decoded by the video decoding unit 30 and video-convertedby the video conversion processing unit 32, and 48 denotes the speakerthat outputs sound based on the audio signal decoded by the sounddecoding unit, and the reception device 4 is mainly constructed of thesedevices. Even when video is displayed in 3D on the display, thesynchronous signal or control signal is outputted from the controlsignal output 43 or the machine control signal transmission terminal 44if necessary.

FIG. 35 and FIG. 36 show examples of the system configuration includingthe reception device, viewing device and 3D auxiliary viewing device(e.g., 3D glasses). FIG. 35 shows an example of the system configurationin which the reception device and the viewing device are integrated asone unit and FIG. 36 shows an example of the system configuration inwhich the reception device and the viewing device are configured asseparate bodies.

In FIG. 35, reference numeral 3501 denotes a display device thatincludes the configuration of the reception device 4 and can perform 3Dvideo display and audio output, 3503 denotes a 3D auxiliary viewingdevice control signal (e.g., IR signal) outputted from the displaydevice 3501, and 3502 denotes a 3D auxiliary viewing device. In theexample of FIG. 35, a video signal is displayed from a video displayprovided for the display device 3501 and an audio signal is outputtedfrom a speaker provided for the display device 3501. Similarly, thedisplay device 3501 is provided with an output terminal that outputs a3D auxiliary viewing device control signal outputted from the output ofthe machine control signal 44 or control signal 43.

An example has been described above assuming that the display device3501 and the 3D auxiliary viewing device 3502 shown in FIG. 35 performdisplay based on an active shutter scheme, which will be describedlater, but in the case of a scheme whereby the display device 3501 andthe 3D auxiliary viewing device 3502 shown in FIG. 35 perform 3D videodisplay through polarization splitting, which will be described later,the 3D auxiliary viewing device 3502 needs only to perform polarizationsplitting so that different videos impinge upon the left eye and theright eye, and there is no need to output the 3D auxiliary viewingdevice control signal 3503 outputted from the output of the machinecontrol signal 44 or the control signal 43 from the display device 3501to the 3D auxiliary viewing device 3502.

Furthermore, in FIG. 36, reference numeral 3601 denotes a video/audiooutput apparatus including the configuration of the reception device 4,3602 denotes a transmission path (e.g., HDMI cable) that transmits avideo/audio/control signal, and 3603 denotes a display that outputs anddisplays a video signal or an audio signal inputted from outside.

In this case, the video signal outputted from the video output 41 of thevideo/audio output apparatus 3601 (reception device 4), the audio signaloutputted from the audio output 42 and the control signal outputted fromthe control signal output 43 are converted to a transmission signal of aformat suitable for the format defined in the transmission path 3602(e.g., format defined in the HDMI standard) and inputted to the display3603 via the transmission path 3602. The display 3603 receives thetransmission signal, decodes it into the original video signal, audiosignal and control signal, outputs video and sound and outputs the 3Dauxiliary viewing device control signal 3503 to the 3D auxiliary viewingdevice 3502.

An example has been described above assuming that the display device3603 and the 3D auxiliary viewing device 3502 shown in FIG. 36 performdisplay based on the active shutter scheme, which will be describedlater. In the case of a scheme whereby the display device 3603 and the3D auxiliary viewing device 3502 shown in FIG. 36 perform 3D videodisplay through polarization splitting, which will be described later,the 3D auxiliary viewing device 3502 needs only to perform polarizationsplitting so that different videos impinge upon the left eye and theright eye, and there is no need to output the 3D auxiliary viewingdevice control signal 3603 from the display device 3603 to the 3Dauxiliary viewing device 3502.

Some of the components 21 to 46 shown in FIG. 25 may be constructed ofone or a plurality of LSIs. Furthermore, functions of some of thecomponents 21 to 46 shown in FIG. 25 may be implemented by software.

<Function Block Diagram of Reception Device>

FIG. 26 shows an example of a function block configuration of processinginside the CPU 21. Here, each function block exists, for example, as asoftware module executed by the CPU 21 and information or data andcontrol instructions are exchanged among the modules through certainmeans (e.g., message passing, function call, event transmission) or thelike.

Furthermore, each module also transmits/receives information to/fromeach hardware component inside the reception device 4 via thegeneral-purpose bus 22. Relational lines (arrows) illustrated in thisfigure mainly describe parts associated with the present description,but there are also communication means and processing requiringcommunication among other modules. For example, a tuning control unit 59acquires program information necessary for tuning from a programinformation analysis unit 54 as appropriate.

Next, functions of the respective function blocks will be described. Asystem control unit 51 manages a state of each module and an instructionstate of the user or the like and provides control instructions for eachmodule. A user instruction reception unit 52 receives and interprets aninput signal of the user operation received by the control signaltransmission/reception unit 33 and transmits the user instruction to thesystem control unit 51. Following the instructions from the systemcontrol unit 51 or other modules, a machine control signal transmissionunit 53 instructs the control signal transmission/reception unit 33 totransmit a machine control signal.

A program information analysis unit 54 acquires program information fromthe demultiplexing unit 29, analyzes contents and provides necessaryinformation to each module. A time management unit 55 acquires timecorrection information (TOT: Time offset table) included in TS from theprogram information analysis unit 54, manages the current time andnotifies an alarm (notification of arrival of a specified time) orone-shot timer (notification of lapse of a certain time) at the requestof each module using the counter provided for the timer 34.

A network control unit 56 controls the network I/F 25 and acquiresvarious types of information and TS from a specific URL (Unique ResourceLocator) or specific IP (Internet Protocol) address. A decoding controlunit 57 controls the video decoding unit 30 and the sound decoding unit31 to start or stop decoding and acquire information included in astream.

A recording/playback control unit 58 controls the recording/playbackunit 27 to read a signal from the recording medium 26 from a specificposition of specific content and in an arbitrary reading format (normalplayback, fast forward, rewind, pause). The recording/playback controlunit 58 also controls recording of a signal inputted to therecording/playback unit 27 onto the recording medium 26.

A tuning control unit 59 controls the tuner 23, the descrambler 24, thedemultiplexing unit 29 and the decoding control unit 57 to receivebroadcasting and record a broadcasting signal. Alternatively, the tuningcontrol unit 59 performs control over processes from playback from therecording medium to output of a video signal and an audio signal.Details of broadcasting reception operation, broadcasting signalrecording operation, and playback operation from the recording mediumwill be described later.

An OSD creation unit 60 creates OSD data containing a specific messageand instructs a video conversion control unit 61 to superimpose thecreated OSD data on a video signal and output the signal. Here, the OSDcreation unit 60 performs 3D message display or the like by creating OSDdata with a parallax for the left eye and for the right eye andrequesting the video conversion control unit 61 to perform 3D displaybased on the OSD data for the left eye and for the right eye.

The video conversion control unit 61 controls the video conversionprocessing unit 32 to convert the video signal inputted from the videodecoding unit 30 to the video conversion processing unit 32 to 3D or 2Dvideo according to an instruction from the system control unit 51,superimpose the converted video on the OSD inputted from the OSDcreation unit 60, further process (scaling, PinP, 3D display or thelike) the video if necessarily, display the video on the display 47 oroutput the video to outside. Details of a method of conversion of 3Dvideo or 2D video to a predetermined format in the video conversionprocessing unit 32 will be described later. The respective functionblocks provide these functions.

<Broadcasting Reception>

Here, a control procedure and a signal flow thereof when performingbroadcasting reception will be described. First, the system control unit51 that has received the user's instruction (e.g., pressing of a CHbutton of the remote controller) indicating broadcasting reception of aspecific channel (CH) from the user instruction reception unit 52instructs the tuning control unit 59 to tune in the CH instructed by theuser (hereinafter referred to as specified CH).

The tuning control unit 59 that has received the instruction instructsthe tuner 23 to perform reception control over the specified CH (tuninginto a specified frequency band, broadcasting signal demodulationprocessing, error correcting processing) and output TS to thedescrambler 24.

Next, the tuning control unit 59 instructs the descrambler 24 todescramble the TS and output the TS to the demultiplexing unit 29 andinstructs the demultiplexing unit 29 to demultiplex the inputted TS,output the demultiplexed video ES to the video decoding unit 30 andoutput sound ES to the sound decoding unit 31.

Furthermore, the tuning control unit 59 instructs the decoding controlunit 57 to decode video ES and sound ES inputted to the video decodingunit 30 and the sound decoding unit 31. The decoding control unit 31that has received the decoding instruction controls the video decodingunit 30 to output the decoded video signal to the video conversionprocessing unit 32, and controls the sound decoding unit 31 to outputthe decoded audio signal to the speaker 48 or the audio output 42. Inthis way, control is performed to output video and sound of the userspecified CH.

Furthermore, in order to display a CH banner (OSD to display the CHnumber, program name, program information or the like) during tuning,the system control unit 51 instructs the OSD creation unit 60 to createand output the CH banner. The OSD creation unit 60 that has received theinstruction transmits data of the created CH banner to the videoconversion control unit 61 and the video conversion control unit 61 thathas received the data performs control so that the CH banner issuperimposed on the video signal and outputted. A message is displayedduring tuning or the like in this way.

<Recording of Broadcasting Signal>

Next, recording control of a broadcasting signal and a signal flowthereof will be described. When recording a specific CH, the systemcontrol unit 51 instructs the tuning control unit 59 to tune into thespecific CH and output a signal to the recording/playback unit 27.

The tuning control unit 59 that has received the instruction instructsthe tuner 23 to perform reception control over the specified CH as inthe case of the broadcasting reception processing and controls thedescrambler 24 to descramble MPEG2-TS received from the tuner 23 andcontrol the demultiplexing unit 29 to output the input from thedescrambler 24 to the recording/playback unit 27.

Furthermore, the system control unit 51 instructs the recording/playbackcontrol unit 58 to record the input TS to the recording/playback unit27. The recording/playback control unit 58 that has received theinstruction performs necessary processing such as encryption on thesignal (TS) inputted to the recording/playback unit 27, createsadditional information necessary for recording/playback (programinformation of recording CH, content information such as bit rate) andrecords management data (ID of recording content, recording position onthe recording medium 26, recording format, encryption information or thelike), and then performs processing of writing the MPEG2-TS andadditional information, management data to the recording medium 26. Thebroadcasting signal is recorded in this way.

<Playback from Recording Medium>

Next, playback processing from a recording medium will be described.When playing back a specific program, the system control unit 51instructs the recording/playback control unit 58 to play back thespecific program. In this case, the system control unit 51 instructs thecontent ID and playback starting position (e.g., start of the program,position of 10 minutes from the start, continuation from the last scene,position of 100 Mbytes from the start or the like). Therecording/playback control unit 58 that has received the instructioncontrols the recording/playback unit 27 to read the signal (TS) from therecording medium 26 using the additional information and the managementdata, perform necessary processing such as decoding of encryption andthen perform processing on the demultiplexing unit 29 so as to outputTS.

Furthermore, the system control unit 51 instructs the tuning controlunit 59 to output video and sound of the playback signal. The tuningcontrol unit 59 that has received the instruction performs control suchthat the input from the recording/playback unit 27 is outputted to thedemultiplexing unit 29 and instructs the demultiplexing unit 29 todemultiplex the inputted TS, output the demultiplexed video ES to thevideo decoding unit 30 and output the demultiplexed sound ES to thesound decoding unit 31.

Furthermore, the tuning control unit 59 instructs the decoding controlunit 57 to decode the video ES and sound ES inputted to the videodecoding unit 30 and the sound decoding unit 31. The decoding controlunit 31 that has received the decoding instruction controls the videodecoding unit 30 to output the decoded video signal to the videoconversion processing unit 32 and controls the sound decoding unit 31 tooutput the decoded audio signal to the speaker 48 or the audio output42. Processing of signal playback from the recording medium is performedin this way.

<3D Video Display Method>

Examples of 3D video display scheme applicable to the present inventioninclude several schemes that create video for the left eye and for theright eye to cause the left eye and right eye to feel a parallax andcause people to recognize as if a three-dimensional object exists.

One such scheme is an active shutter scheme in which the left and rightglasses worn by the user are alternately light-shielded using a liquidcrystal shutter or the like, videos for the left eye and for the righteye are displayed in synchronization therewith to produce a parallax inimages reflected in the left and right eyes.

In this case, the reception device 4 outputs a synchronous signal and acontrol signal to the active shutter glasses worn by the user from thecontrol signal output 43 or the machine control signal transmissionterminal 44. Furthermore, the reception device 4 outputs a video signalfrom the video signal output 41 to an external 3D video display deviceto cause the 3D video display device to alternately display video forthe left eye and video for the right eye. Alternatively, the receptiondevice 4 causes the display 47 provided for the reception device 4 toperform similar 3D display. This allows the user wearing the activeshutter mode glasses to view the 3D video on the display 47 provided forthe 3D video display device or the reception device 4.

Furthermore, another scheme is a polarization scheme whereby films whoselinear polarizations are orthogonal to each other are pasted to the leftand right glasses worn by the user or linear polarization coating isapplied thereto, or films having mutually opposite rotation directionsof the polarization axis of circular polarization are pasted to theglasses or circular polarization coating is applied thereto, video forthe left eye and video for the right eye using different polarizationscorresponding to polarizations of the left eye and right eye glasses aresimultaneously outputted, and videos impinging upon the left eye and theright eye are thereby separated according to their polarization statesrespectively to produce a parallax between the left eye and the righteye.

In this case, the reception device 4 outputs a video signal from thevideo signal output 41 to the external 3D video display device and the3D video display device displays the video for the left eye and thevideo for the right eye in different polarization states. Alternatively,the display 47 provided for the reception device 4 performs similardisplay. This allows the user wearing polarization glasses to view 3Dvideo on the display 47 provided for the 3D video display device orreception device 4. The polarization scheme enables 3D video to beviewed without the need for sending a synchronous signal or a controlsignal from the reception device 4 to the polarization glasses, and itis therefore not necessary to output a synchronous signal or a controlsignal from the control signal output 43 or the machine control signaltransmission terminal 44.

In addition, a color separation scheme whereby videos of the left andright eyes are separated may also be used. Furthermore, a parallaxbarrier scheme whereby 3D video is created using a parallax barrierwhich is viewable by naked eyes may also be used.

The 3D display scheme according to the present invention is not limitedto any specific scheme.

<Specific Example of Method of Deciding 3D Program Using ProgramInformation>

As an example of a method of deciding a 3D program, it is possible toacquire information for deciding whether a program is a newly included3D program or not from various tables and descriptors included in theprogram information of the broadcasting signal described above and theplayback signal and decide whether the program is a 3D program or not.

It is decided whether the program is a 3D program or not by checkinginformation for deciding whether the program is a 3D program newlyincluded in a component descriptor component group descriptor describedin tables such as PMT or EIT (schedule basic/scheduleextended/present/following), or checking a 3D program detail descriptorwhich is a new descriptor for deciding a 3D program, checkinginformation for deciding whether the program is a 3D program newlyincluded in the service descriptor, service list descriptor or the likedescribed in tables such as NIT or SDT or the like. Such information isadded to a broadcasting signal in the aforementioned transmission deviceand transmitted. In the transmission device, the information is added toa broadcasting signal, for example, by the management information addingunit 16.

The respective tables are used for different purposes, for example, PMTdescribes only information on a current program, and it is therefore notpossible to check about information on future programs but PMT has afeature that its reliability is high. On the other hand, EIT [schedulebasic/schedule extended] allows not only information on the currentprogram but also future programs to be acquired, but EIT has suchdemerits that it requires a long time until reception is completed,requires a large storage region and has low reliability because EIThandles future events. Since EIT [following] allows information on aprogram of the next broadcasting time to be acquired, EIT is suitablefor application to the present embodiment. Furthermore, EIT [present]can be used to acquire the current program information and it ispossible to acquire information different from that of PMT.

Next, detailed examples of processing of the reception device 4 relatingto the program information described in FIG. 4, FIG. 6, FIG. 10, FIG. 12and FIG. 14 transmitted from the transmission device 1 will bedescribed.

FIG. 20 shows an example of processing on each field of a componentdescriptor in the reception device 4.

When “descriptor_tag” is “0x50,” the descriptor is decided to be acomponent descriptor. With “descriptor_length,” the descriptor isdecided to indicate the descriptor length of a component descriptor.When “stream_content” is “0x01”, “0x05”, “0x06”, “0x07,” the descriptoris decided to be valid (video). When “stream_content” is other than“0x01”, “0x05”, “0x06”, “0x07,” the descriptor is decided to be invalid.When “stream_content” is “0x01”, “0x05”, “0x06”, “0x07,” subsequentprocessing is performed.

With “component_type” the descriptor is decided to indicate a videocomponent type of the component. Any one value in FIG. 5 is specifiedfor this component type. The contents thereof make it possible to decidewhether the component is a component about a 3D video program or not.

“Component_tag” is a component tag value which is unique in the programand can be used in association with the component tag value of a streamidentifier of PMT.

“ISO_639_language_code” handles a character code arranged later as “jpn”even other than “jpn (“0x6A706E”).”

With “text_char,” the descriptor within 16 bytes (8 full sizecharacters) is decided to be a component description. When this field isomitted, the descriptor is decided to indicate a default componentdescription. The default character string is “video.”

As described above, the component descriptor makes it possible to decidea video component type making up an event (program) and the componentdescription can be used to select a video component in the receiver.

Only video components whose component_tag value is set to value 0x00 to0x0F can be singly regarded as selection targets. Video components setwith values other than the above-described component_tag values are notsingly regarded as selection targets and should not be targets of thecomponent selection function or the like.

Furthermore, due to a mode change or the like in an event (program), thecomponent description may not match the actual component.(Component_type of the component descriptor describes a typicalcomponent type of the component and this value must not be changed inreal time when a mode change occurs in the middle of the program.)

Furthermore, component_type described by the component descriptor isreferenced to decide default maximum_bit_rate when information forcontrolling a copy generation in a digital recording device and adigital copy control descriptor which is a description of a maximumtransmission rate are omitted for the event (program).

Performing processing on each field of the present descriptor by thereception device 4 and thereby monitoring stream_content andcomponent_type by the reception device 4 in this way provides an effectthat it is possible to recognize that a program currently being receivedor received in the future is a 3D program.

FIG. 21 shows an example of processing on each field of a componentgroup descriptor in the reception device 4.

When “descriptor_tag” is “0xD9,” the descriptor is decided to be acomponent group descriptor. With “descriptor_length,” the descriptor isdecided to indicate a descriptor length of the component groupdescriptor.

When “component_group_type” is ‘000,’ the descriptor is decided toindicate a multi-view television service and when it is ‘001,’ thedescriptor is decided to indicate a 3D television service.

When “total_bit_rate_flag” is ‘0,’ the total bit rate in the group in anevent (program) is decided not to be described in the descriptor. Whenit is ‘1,’ the total bit rate in the group in an event (program) isdecided to be described in the descriptor.

With “num_of_group,” the descriptor is decided to indicate the number ofcomponent groups in an event (program). When a maximum value exists andif the maximum value is exceeded, it may be handled as the maximumvalue.

When “component_group_id” is “0x0,” the descriptor is decided toindicate a main group. When it is other than “0x0,” the descriptor isdecided to indicate a subgroup.

With “num_of_CA_unit,” the descriptor is decided to indicate the numberof charging/non-charging units in the component group. When a maximumvalue is exceeded, it may be handled as 2.

When “CA_unit_id” is “0x0,” the descriptor is decided to indicate anon-charging unit group. When it is “0x1,” the descriptor is decided toindicate a charging unit including a default ES group. When it is otherthan “0x0” and “0x1,” the descriptor is decided to be charging unitidentification other than that described above.

With “num_of_component,” the descriptor is decided to indicate thenumber of components that belong to the component group and also belongto the charging/non-charging unit indicated by immediately precedingCA_unit_id. When a maximum value is exceeded, it may be handled as 15.

With “component_tag,” the descriptor is decided to indicate a value of acomponent tag that belongs to the component group and can be used inassociation with the component tag value of a stream identifier of PMT.

With “total_bit_rate,” the descriptor is decided to indicate a total bitrate in the component group. When “total_bit_rate” is “0x00,” it isdecided to be a default.

When “text_length” is equal to or less than 16 (8 full size characters),the descriptor is decided to indicate a component group descriptionlength and when “text_length” is greater than 16 (8 full sizecharacters), a descriptive text corresponding to its portion in whichthe component group description length exceeds 16 (8 full sizecharacters) may be ignored.

“Text_char” refers to a descriptive text relating to the componentgroup. Based on the arrangement of the component group descriptor ofcomponent_group_type=‘000,’ it is possible to decide that a multi-viewtelevision service is provided in the event (program) and use thedescriptive text for processing per component group.

Furthermore, based on the arrangement of the component group descriptorof component_group_type=‘001,’ it is possible to decide that a 3Dtelevision service is provided in the event (program) and use thedescriptive text for processing per component group.

Furthermore, the default ES group of each group must be described in acomponent loop disposed at the beginning of a CA_unit loop.

In a main group (component_group_id=0x0),

if the default ES group of the group is a non-charging target,free_CA_mode=0 is set, but the component loop of CA_unit_id=0x1 shouldnot be set.

if the default ES group of the group is a charging target,free_CA_mode=1 is set and the component loop of CA_unit_id=“0x1” must beset and described.

Furthermore, in a subgroup (component_group_id>0x0),

for the subgroup, only the same charging unit as that of the main groupor non-charging unit can be set.

if the default ES group of the group is a non-charging target, thecomponent loop of CA_unit_id=0x0 is set and described.

if the default ES group of the group is a charging target, the componentloop of CA_unit_id=0x1 is set and described.

Performing processing on each field of the present descriptor by thereception device 4 and thereby monitoring component_group_type by thereception device 4 in this way provides an effect that it is possible torecognize that a program currently being received or received in thefuture is a 3D program.

FIG. 22 shows an example of processing on each field of a 3D programdetail descriptor in the reception device 4.

When “descriptor_tag” is “0xE1,” the descriptor is decided to be a 3Dprogram detail descriptor. With “descriptor_length,” the descriptor isdecided to indicate a descriptor length of the 3D program detaildescriptor. With “3d_2d_type,” the descriptor is decided to indicate3D/2D identification in the 3D program. The 3D/2D identification isspecified from FIG. 10 (b). With “3d_method_type,” the descriptor isdecided to indicate 3D mode identification in the 3D program. The 3Dmode identification is specified from FIG. 11.

With “stream_type,” the descriptor is decided to indicate an ES formatof the 3D program. The ES format of the 3D program is specified fromFIG. 3. With “component_tag,” the descriptor is decided to indicate acomponent tag value which is unique in the 3D program. The component tagvalue can be used in association with the component tag value of astream identifier of PMT.

A configuration may also be adopted in which the program is decided tobe a 3D video program or not based on the presence or absence of the 3Dprogram detail descriptor itself. That is, in this case, the program isdecided to be a 2D video program if there is no 3D program detaildescriptor and the program is decided to be a 3D video program if thereis a 3D program detail descriptor.

Performing processing on each field of the present descriptor by thereception device 4 and thereby monitoring the 3D program detaildescriptor by the reception device 4 in this way provides an effect thatif this descriptor exists, it is possible to recognize that a programcurrently being received or received in the future is a 3D program.

FIG. 23 shows an example of processing on each field of the servicedescriptor in the reception device 4. When “descriptor_tag” is “0x48,”the descriptor is decided to be a service descriptor. With“descriptor_length,” the descriptor is decided to indicate thedescriptor length of a service descriptor. When “service_type” is otherthan service_type shown in FIG. 13, the descriptor is decided to beinvalid.

In the case of reception of BS/CS digital television broadcasting, with“service_provider_name_length” equal to or less than 20, the descriptoris decided to indicate a provider name length and when“service_provider_name_length” is greater than 20, the provider name isdecided to be invalid. On the other hand, in the case of reception ofdigital terrestrial television broadcasting, with“service_provider_name_length” other than “0x00,” the descriptor isdecided to be invalid.

With “char,” the descriptor is decided to indicate a provider name inthe case of reception of BS/CS digital television broadcasting. On theother hand, in the case of reception of digital terrestrial televisionbroadcasting, the described contents are ignored. With“service_name_length” equal to or less than 20, the descriptor isdecided to indicate an organized channel name length and with“service_name_length” greater than 20, the organized channel name isdecided to be invalid.

With “char,” the descriptor is decided to indicate an organized channelname. When SDT in which descriptors are arranged cannot be receivedaccording to the example of transmission processing shown in FIG. 18above, basic information of the target service is decided to be invalid.

Performing processing on each field of the present descriptor by thereception device 4 and thereby monitoring service_type by the receptiondevice 4 in this way provides an effect that the organized channel is a3D program channel.

FIG. 24 shows an example of processing on each field of the service listdescriptor in the reception device 4. When “descriptor_tag” is “0x41,”the descriptor is decided to be a service list descriptor. With“descriptor_length,” the descriptor is decided to indicate thedescriptor length of a service list descriptor.

With “loop,” the descriptor describes a loop with a number of servicesincluded in a target transport stream. With “service_id,” the descriptoris decided to indicate service_id corresponding to the transport stream.With “service_type,” the descriptor indicates the service type of atarget service. Any “service_type” other than the service type definedin FIG. 13 is decided to be invalid.

As described above, the service list descriptor can be decided to beinformation on transport streams included in the target network.

Performing processing on each field of the present descriptor by thereception device 4 and thereby monitoring service_type by the receptiondevice 4 in this way provides an effect that it is possible to recognizethat the organized channel is a 3D program channel.

Next, descriptors in each table will be described more specifically.First, it is possible to decide the ES format by the type of data instream_type described in the 2nd loop (loop per ES) of PMT as describedin FIG. 3 above and if a description indicating that the streamcurrently being broadcast is 3D video exists therein, that program isdecided to be a 3D program (e.g., if 0x1F indicating a subbit stream(other viewpoint) of multi-viewpoint video coding (e.g., H.264/MVC)stream exists in stream_type, that program is decided to be a 3Dprogram).

Furthermore, in addition to stream_type, it is also possible to assign a2D/3D identification bit to newly identify a 3D program or 2D programfor a region assumed to be currently reserved in PMT and make a decisionin the region.

EIT can be likewise decided by newly assigning a 2D/3D identificationbit to the reserved region.

When deciding a 3D program using component descriptors arranged in PMTand/or EIT, it is possible, as described in FIGS. 4 and 5 above, toassign the type indicating 3D video to a component descriptorcomponent_type (e.g., FIGS. 5 (c) to (e)), and if there is one whosecomponent_type indicates 3D, that program can be decided as a 3Dprogram. (E.g., FIGS. 5 (c) to (e) or the like are assigned and it ischecked that the values exist in the program information of the targetprogram.)

As the deciding method using component group descriptors arranged inEIT, as described in FIGS. 6 and 7 above, a description indicating a 3Dservice is assigned to the value of component_group_type and if thevalue of component_group_type indicates a 3D service, the program can bedecided to be a 3D program (e.g., when the bit field is 001, a 3D TVservice or the like is assigned and it is checked that the value existsin the program information of the target program).

As the deciding method using 3D program detail descriptors arranged inPMT and/or EIT, as described in FIGS. 10 and 11 above, when decidingwhether the target program is a 3D program or not, it is possible tomake a decision based on contents of 3d_2d_type (3D/2D type) in the 3Dprogram detail descriptor. Furthermore, when no 3D program detaildescriptor is transmitted about the reception program, the program isdecided to be a 2D program. Furthermore a method may also be adoptedwhereby if the 3D mode type (above-described 3d_method_type) included inthe descriptor indicates a 3D mode that can be supported by thereception device, the next program is decided to be a 3D program. Inthat case, though analyzing processing of descriptors becomes morecomplicated, it is possible to stop the operation of performing messagedisplay processing or recording processing on the 3D program supportedby the reception device.

In the information on service_type included in service descriptorsarranged in SDT and service list descriptors arranged in NIT, when a 3Dvideo service is assigned to 0x01 as described in FIGS. 12 and 13 and 14above, if the descriptors acquire certain program information, theprogram can be decided to be a 3D program. In this case, the decision ismade not in program units but in service (CH, organized channel) units,and although it is not possible to make a 3D program decision on thenext program in the same organized channel, there is also an advantagethat information is acquired easily because the information is notacquired in program units.

Furthermore, program information may also be acquired using a dedicatedcommunication path (broadcasting signal or the Internet). In that case,a 3D program decision can be likewise made as long as there areidentifiers indicating the program start time, CH (broadcastingorganized channel, URL or IP address) and that the program is a 3Dprogram.

Various types of information (information included in tables anddescriptors) to decide whether video is 3D video or not in service (CH)or program units have been described above, but all the information neednot be transmitted in the present invention. Only necessary informationmay be transmitted according to the broadcasting mode. Among those typesof information, it may be possible to decide whether video is 3D videoor not in service (CH) or program units by checking a single piece ofinformation or decide whether video is 3D video or not in service (CH)or program units by combining a plurality of pieces of information. Whensuch a decision is made by combining a plurality of pieces ofinformation, it is also possible to make such a decision that only someprograms are 2D video though the service is a 3D video broadcastingservice. When such a decision can be made, the reception device canclearly state, for example, on EPG that the service is a “3D videobroadcasting service” and even when besides the 3D video program, a 2Dvideo program is mixed in the service, it is possible to switch displaycontrol between the 3D video program and 2D video program when receivingthe program.

When a program is decided to be a 3D program using the above-described3D program deciding method, if, for example, 3D components specified inFIGS. 5 (c) to (e) can be appropriately processed (displayed, outputted)by the reception device 4, the 3D components are processed (played back,displayed, outputted) in 3D and if the 3D components cannot be processed(played back, displayed, outputted) appropriately by the receptiondevice 4 (e.g., when there is no 3D video playback functioncorresponding to the specified 3D transmission scheme), the 3Dcomponents may be processed (played back, displayed, outputted) in 2D.In this case, information indicating that the reception device cannotdisplay or output the 3D video program in 3D appropriately may bedisplayed along with 2D video display and output.

FIG. 50 shows an example of message display in this case. Referencenumeral 701 denotes the entire screen displayed or outputted by thedevice and 5001 shows an example of a message notifying the user that itis a 3D mode type that cannot be processed by the reception device 4.The message 5001 may also display an error code indicating the type oferror, 3D mode type (e.g., value of 3d_method type) and a value thatcombines them. This gives a merit of allowing the user to decide theinternal situation of the reception device.

An example of the processing flow of the system control unit 51 whendisplaying an error message will be described using FIG. 51. The systemcontrol unit 51 acquires program information on the current program fromthe program information analysis unit 54 (S201) and decides whether thecurrent program is a 3D program or not using the above-described 3Dprogram deciding method. When the current programs is not a 3D program(no in S202), the system control unit 51 does not perform processing inparticular. Next, when the current program is a 3D program (yes inS202), the system control unit 51 checks whether the reception devicesupports the 3D mode type for the current program or not (S802). To bemore specific, a method may be available which decides whether the 3Dmode type included in the program information (e.g., 3d_method_typedescribed in the 3D program detail descriptor) is a value indicating the3D mode supported by the reception device 4 or not. The values ofsupported 3D mode types may be stored in the storage section or the likeof the reception device 4 beforehand to be used for decisions. When thedecision result shows that the program is a 3D mode type supported bythe reception device (yes in S802), no message or the like is displayedparticularly. In the case of a 3D mode type not supported by thereception device (no in S802), a message indicating that the type isunsupported by the device is displayed as shown in FIG. 49 is displayed(S803).

By doing so, the user can comprehend whether the program is a programbroadcast as a 2D video program or a program which is broadcast as a 3Dvideo program but is displayed as 2D video because it cannot beprocessed appropriately by the reception device.

<Display Example of Electronic Program Table and Display Example ofScreen Display of 3D Program>

FIG. 48 shows a display example of en electronic program table includinga 3D program. The electronic program table is configured mainly based onprogram information included in EIT multiplexed with a broadcastingsignal and transmitted, and besides this, program information data maybe transmitted using broadcasting specific multiplexing scheme orprogram information may be transmitted via the Internet or the like.Examples of information used for the electronic program table includeevent (program)-related program name, broadcasting start time,broadcasting period, other detailed information of program (actors,director, information relating to video and/or sound decoding, seriesname or the like), and the electronic program table as shown in FIG. 48is configured based on such information. EIT is transmitted for not onlya program currently being broadcast but also programs to be broadcast inthe future. That is, the reception device can perform display processingon the electronic program table shown below using information containedin EIT regarding the program currently being received and programs to bereceived in the future.

Reference numeral 701 in FIG. 48 denotes the entire screen displayed oroutputted by the device, 4801 denotes the entire electronic programtable presented on the screen, the horizontal axis shows a service (CH:channel), the vertical axis shows a time scale, and an electronicprogram table including services ICH, 3CH, 4CH, 6CH and time 7:00 to12:00 is displayed in this example. When the electronic program table isdisplayed, only the electronic program table may be displayed withoutplaying back the program currently being received. Alternatively, theelectronic program table may be displayed superimposed on the video ofthe program currently being received. Such processing may be performedin the reception device in FIG. 25 through the video conversionprocessing unit 32 under the control of the CPU 21 (system control unit51, OSD creation unit 60).

In this example, when a 3D program which is decided using theabove-described method exists in an event (program) included inelectronic program table data (e.g., EIT) (e.g., program represented bya rectangle displayed with 8:00 to 10:00 of 3CH in the example of FIG.48), a mark such as one shown by reference numeral 4802 that makes itpossible to identify that the program is a 3D program (hereinafterreferred to as 3D program mark) is displayed in a range within which themark assigned is noticeable (e.g., within a rectangular rangerepresenting the program or a specified range around the rectangle).This allows the user to easily recognize which program is a 3D programwithin the electronic program table.

Here, as the method of displaying a 3D program mark, in addition to thedisplay example of 4802, a 3D mode type of the program may be acquiredand decided from the information of 3d_method_type, for example, as4803, and characters or a mark indicating the 3D broadcasting scheme maybe displayed. This example shows a case where a mark “MVC” representinga multi-viewpoint coding scheme is displayed. In this case, the user caneasily decide, from the electronic program table, that the program is a3D program and in what 3D mode type the program is broadcast.

Furthermore, the following method may be available as another displaymethod; as an example shown by reference numeral 4804, when thereception device does not support the 3D mode type acquired fromabove-described 3d_method_type, a mark indicating that the type is notsupported (e.g., “x” in the figure) is displayed or the display color ischanged (displayed with shading as shown in the figure or the color ofthe display region of the electronic program is changed to gray or thelike), and when the program is a 3D mode type supported by the receptiondevice, a mark indicating that the type is supported is displayed (e.g.,“◯” is displayed at the display position of x in the figure instead),that is, display contents are changed depending on whether the receptiondevice supports the 3D mode type of the program or not. This allows theuser to easily recognize whether the program is a program of the 3D modetype supported by the reception device or not.

Furthermore, it is also possible to combine these displays, display the3D mode type of the program, and change the display color to indicatethat the 3D mode type is not supported by the device. In such a case,the user can check the 3D mode type of the program and easily decidewhether the 3D mode type is supported by the reception device or not.

Furthermore, when the user operates a cursor (selected region) which isdisplayed on the electronic program table using a remote controller, andif the focus of the cursor is located at a 3D program, a 3D program markmay be displayed in a region different from the selected region. As aspecific example, as shown in 4902 of FIG. 49, a 3D program mark may bedisplayed together with, for example, detailed information of theprogram (e.g., CH number, broadcasting time, program name as shown in4901) outside the rectangular range shown by the selected program. Inthe example of FIG. 49, the regions for the 3D program mark display 4902and detailed information display of the program 4901 are providedoutside a program list display region 4903 of the electronic programtable.

As another method of displaying an electronic program table, when theuser performs a specific operation (e.g., pressing of a button, settingin a menu) via a remote controller, or when the user opens an electronicprogram table specialized for 3D programs, or in the case of a 3Dcompatible device, only the 3D programs may be displayed in theelectronic program table. This allows the user to easily search a 3Dprogram.

In addition to the electronic program table, a 3D program mark may alsobe displayed in a program display (e.g., CH banner) which is displayedwhen a program is selected or program information is changed or when theuser presses a specific button (e.g., “screen display”). When thecurrent program is decided to be a 3D program using a 3D programdeciding method similar to that described above, as shown in an exampleof FIG. 53, the aforementioned 3D program mark may be displayed in aprogram display 5301 when a 3D program is displayed in 2D. In this way,the user can decide whether the program is a 3D program or not withoutthe user opening the program table. In this case, the 3D program mayalso be displayed together with detailed information of the program suchas CH number, broadcasting time, program name shown by reference numeral5301. The display of FIG. 53 may be performed also when a 3D program isdisplayed in 3D.

Here, regarding the display of the 3D program mark, in addition to thedescriptor used in the above-described 3D program deciding method, acharacter “3D” included at a specific position (e.g., starting part) ofcharacter data of the electronic program table (e.g., the text_char partof a short format event descriptor included in EIT) may be used. In thiscase, the user can recognize a 3D program from the electronic programtable even using the existing reception device.

<3D Playback/Output/Display Processing on 3D Content of 3D 2-Viewpointin Respective ESs Transmission Scheme>

Next, processing when 3D content (digital content including 3D video) isplayed back will be described. Here, playback processing in the case ofa 3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmission scheme in which a mainviewpoint video ES and a sub-viewpoint video ES exist in one TS as shownin FIG. 47 will be described first. First, when the user instructsswitching to 3D output/display (e.g., pressing a “3D” key of a remotecontroller), the user instruction reception unit 52 that has receivedthe key code instructs the system control unit 51 to switch to 3D video(in the following processing, the same processing is performed even whenswitching is made to 3D output/display under conditions other than theuser instruction for switching 3D content to 3D display/output regardingcontent of a 3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmission scheme).Next, the system control unit 51 decides whether the current program isa 3D program or not using the above-described method.

When the current program is a 3D program, the system control unit 51instructs the tuning control unit 59 to output 3D video first. Thetuning control unit 59 that has received the instruction acquires a PID(packet ID) and coding scheme (e.g., H.264/MVC, MPEG2, H.264/AVC or thelike) for the main viewpoint video ES and the sub-viewpoint video ESfrom the program information analysis unit 54 first, and then controlsthe demultiplexing unit 29 so as to demultiplex the main viewpoint videoES and the sub-viewpoint video ES and output the demultiplexed video ESsto the video decoding unit 30.

Here, the tuning control unit 59 controls the demultiplexing unit 29 soas to input, for example, the main viewpoint video ES to the first inputof the video decoding unit and the sub-viewpoint video ES to the secondinput of the video decoding unit. After that, the tuning control unit 59transmits information indicating that the first input of the videodecoding unit 30 is the main viewpoint video ES and the second input isthe sub-viewpoint video ES, and the respective coding schemes to thedecoding control unit 57 and instructs the decoding control unit 57 todecode these ESs.

In order to decode a 3D program whose coding scheme differs between themain viewpoint video ES and the sub-viewpoint video ES as combinationexample 2 and combination example 4 of the 3D 2-viewpoint in respectiveESs transmission scheme shown in FIG. 47, the video decoding unit 30 maybe configured to have a plurality of types of decoding functionscorresponding to the respective coding schemes.

In order to decode a 3D program whose coding scheme is the same betweenthe main viewpoint video ES and the sub-viewpoint video ES ascombination example 1 and combination example 3 of the 3D 2-viewpoint inrespective ESs transmission scheme shown in FIG. 47, the video decodingunit 30 may be configured to have only the decoding functioncorresponding to a single coding scheme. In this case, the videodecoding unit 30 can be configured at low cost.

The decoding control unit 57 that has received the instruction performsdecoding corresponding to the respective coding schemes of the mainviewpoint video ES and the sub-viewpoint video ES, and outputs videosignals for the left eye and for the right eye to the video conversionprocessing unit 32. Here, the system control unit 51 instructs the videoconversion control unit 61 to perform 3D output processing. The videoconversion control unit 61 that has received the instruction from thesystem control unit 51 controls the video conversion processing unit 32to output 3D video from the video output 41. Alternatively, the videoconversion control unit 61 displays the 3D video on the display 47provided for the reception device 4.

The 3D playback/output/display method will be described using FIG. 37.

FIG. 37(a) is a diagram illustrating a playback/output/display methodcorresponding to frame-sequential output/display whereby videos of 3Dcontent left and right viewpoints of a 3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESstransmission scheme are alternately displayed and outputted. Framesequence (M1, M2, M3, . . . ) at the top left in the figure represent aplurality of frames included in the main viewpoint (for the left eye)video ES of a 3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmission schemecontent and frame sequence (S1, S2, S3, . . . ) at the bottom left inthe figure represents a plurality of frames included in thesub-viewpoint (for the right eye) video ES of the 3D 2-viewpoint inrespective ESs transmission scheme content. The video conversionprocessing unit 32 alternately outputs/displays the respective frames ofthe inputted main viewpoint (for the left eye) and sub-viewpoint (forthe right eye) video signals as a video signal as expressed by a framesequence (M1, S1, M2, S2, M3, S3, . . . ) on the right side of thefigure. According to such an output/display scheme, it is possible touse to a maximum the resolution displayable on the display for eachviewpoint and realize a 3D display with high resolution.

In the system configuration of FIG. 36, when the scheme of FIG. 37 (a)is used, a synchronous signal that allows the respective video signalsto be distinguished as signals for the main viewpoint (left eye) and forthe sub-viewpoint (right eye) is outputted together with the output ofthe above-described video signals from the control signal 43. Theexternal video output apparatus that has received the video signal andthe video signal synchronizes the video signal with the synchronoussignal, outputs the main viewpoint (for the left eye) video and thesub-viewpoint (for the right eye) video and transmits the synchronoussignal to the 3D auxiliary viewing device, and can thereby perform 3Ddisplay. The synchronous signal outputted from the external video outputdevice may be generated by an external video output apparatus.

Furthermore, in the system configuration of FIG. 35, when the videosignal is displayed on the display 47 provided for the reception device4 using the scheme of FIG. 37 (a), the synchronous signal is outputtedfrom the machine control signal transmission terminal 44 via the machinecontrol signal transmission unit 53 and the control signaltransmission/reception unit 33 to perform control over the external 3Dauxiliary viewing device (e.g., switching light-shielding of the activeshutter) and thereby perform 3D display.

FIG. 37(b) is a diagram illustrating the playback/output/display methodcorresponding to output/display according to a scheme whereby 3D contentleft and right viewpoint videos of the 3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESstransmission scheme are displayed in different regions of the display.The processing is performed by the video decoding unit 30 decoding astream of the 3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmission scheme andthe video conversion processing unit 32 performing video conversionprocessing. Here, examples of methods of “displaying the left and rightviewpoint videos in different regions” include a method of displayingodd-numbered lines and even-numbered lines of the display as displayregions for the main viewpoint (left eye) and for the sub-viewpoint(right eye) respectively. Alternatively, the display region need notalways be formed in line units, and in the case of a display that hasdifferent pixels for different viewpoints, display regions may be formedfor a combination of a plurality of pixels for the main viewpoint (lefteye) and for a combination of a plurality of pixels for thesub-viewpoint (right eye) respectively. For example, the display deviceaccording to the aforementioned polarization scheme may output, forexample, videos in different polarization states corresponding to therespective polarization states of the left eye and the right eye of the3D auxiliary viewing device. According to such an output/display scheme,the resolution displayable on the display for each viewpoint is lowerthan that of the scheme in FIG. 37(a), but the video for the mainviewpoint (left eye) and the video for the sub-viewpoint (right eye) canbe outputted/displayed simultaneously and need not be displayedalternately. This allows a 3D display with less flickering than thescheme in FIG. 37(a).

In any one of the system configurations in FIG. 35 and FIG. 36, when thescheme in FIG. 37(b) is used, the 3D auxiliary viewing device may bepolarization splitting glasses and need not particularly performelectronic control. In this case, the 3D auxiliary viewing device can beprovided at lower cost.

<2D Output/Display Processing on 3D Content According to 3D 2-Viewpointin Respective ESs Transmission Scheme>

The operation when performing 2D output/display of 3D content accordingto the 3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmission scheme will bedescribed below. When the user gives an instruction for switching to 2Dvideo (e.g., pressing of the “2D” key of the remote controller), theuser instruction reception unit 52 that has received the key codeinstructs the system control unit 51 to switch the signal to 2D video(in the following processing, similar processing is also performed evenwhen switching is made to 2D output/display under conditions other thanthe user instruction for switching to the 2D output/display of 3Dcontent of the 3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmission scheme).Next, the system control unit 51 instructs the tuning control unit 59 tooutput 2D video first.

The tuning control unit 59 that has received the instruction acquires aPID of 2D video ES (the main viewpoint ES or ES having a default tag)from the program information analysis unit 54 first and controls thedemultiplexing unit 29 so as to output the ES to the video decoding unit30. After that, the tuning control unit 59 instructs the decodingcontrol unit 57 to decode the ES. That is, since a substream or ESdiffers between the main viewpoint and the sub-viewpoint according tothe 3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmission scheme, only thesubstream or ES of the main viewpoint may be decoded.

The decoding control unit 57 that has received the instruction controlsthe video decoding unit 30 to decode the ES and outputs a video signalto the video conversion processing unit 32. Here, the system controlunit 51 controls the video conversion control unit 61 so as to output 2Dvideo. The video conversion control unit 61 that has received theinstruction from the system control unit 51 controls the videoconversion processing unit 32 so as to output a 2D video signal from thevideo output terminal 41 or to display the 2D video on the display 47.

The 2D output/display method will be described using FIG. 38. Theconfiguration of coded video is the same as that in FIG. 37, and sincethe video decoding unit 30 does not decode the second ES (sub-viewpointvideo ES) as described above, the video signal on the one ES side whichis not decoded in the video conversion processing unit 32 is convertedto a 2D video signal represented by a frame sequence (M1, M2, M3, . . .) on the right side of FIG. 38 and outputted. The video signal is thusoutputted/displayed in 2D.

The method whereby ES for the right eye is not decoded has beendescribed as the 2D output/display method here, but both the ES for theleft eye and the ES for the right eye may be decoded, the videoconversion processing unit 32 may perform processing of puncturing thevideo signal for the right eye and thereby perform 2D display as in thecase of 3D display. In that case, there is no more need for switchingprocessing between decoding processing and demultiplexing processing,and effects such as a reduction of the switching time and simplificationof software processing can be expected.

<3D Output/Display Processing on 3D Content According to Side-by-SideScheme/Top-and-Bottom Scheme>

Next, 3D content playback processing when video for the left eye andvideo for the right eye exist in one video ES (e.g., when video for theleft eye and video for the right eye are stored in one 2D screen as inthe case of the side-by-side scheme or top-and-bottom scheme) will bedescribed. When the user instructs the switching to 3D video as in theabove-described case, the user instruction reception unit 52 that hasreceived the key code instructs the system control unit 51 to performswitching to 3D video (in the following processing, similar processingis performed even when switching is made to 2D output/display underconditions other than a user instruction for switching to 2Doutput/display of 3D content according to the side-by-side scheme ortop-and-bottom scheme). Next, the system control unit 51 likewisedecides whether the current program is a 3D program or not using theabove-described method.

When the current program is a 3D program, the system control unit 51instructs the tuning control unit 59 to output 3D video first. Thetuning control unit 59 that has received the instruction acquires a PID(packet ID) and coding scheme (e.g., MPEG2, H.264/AVC or the like) of a3D video ES containing 3D video from the program information analysisunit 54 first and then controls the demultiplexing unit 29 so as todemultiplex the 3D video ES and output the demultiplexed 3D video ESs tothe video decoding unit 30, controls the video decoding unit 30 so as toperform decoding processing corresponding to the coding scheme andoutput the decoded video signal to the video conversion processing unit32.

Here, the system control unit 51 instructs the video conversion controlunit 61 to perform 3D output processing. The video conversion controlunit 61 that has received the instruction from the system control unit51 instructs the video conversion processing unit 32 to separate theinputted video signal into video for the left eye and video for theright eye and perform processing such as scaling (details will bedescribed later). The video conversion processing unit 32 outputs theconverted video signal from the video output 41 or displays video on thedisplay 47 provided for the reception device 4.

The 3D video playback/output/display method will be described using FIG.39.

FIG. 39(a) is a diagram illustrating a playback/output/display methodcorresponding to frame-sequential output/display for alternatelydisplaying/outputting left and right viewpoint videos of 3D contentaccording to the side-by-side scheme or top-and-bottom scheme. The codedvideos according to the side-by-side scheme and top-and-bottom schemeare illustrated together, and both videos are different only in thearrangement of video for the left eye and video for the right eye in thevideo, and therefore the following description will be given using theside-by-side scheme and description of the top-and-bottom scheme will beomitted. The frame sequence (L1/R, L2/R2, L3/R3, . . . ) on the left ofthis figure represents a side-by-side scheme video signal in which videofor the left eye and video for the right eye are arranged on theleft/right sides of one frame. The video decoding unit 30 decodes theside-by-side scheme video signal arranged on the left/right sides of oneframe of video for the left eye and video for the right eye, the videoconversion processing unit 32 separates each frame of the decodedside-by-side scheme video signal into video for the left eye and videofor the right eye to the left and to the right, and further performsscaling (extension/interpolation or compression/puncturing or the likeso that the videos match the lateral size of the output video).Furthermore, the video conversion processing unit 32 alternately outputsframes as video signals as shown by a frame sequence (L1, R1, L2, R2,L3, R3, . . . ) on the right side in this figure.

In FIG. 39(a), the processing after converting frames to theoutput/display video in which frames are alternately outputted/displayedand processing of outputting a synchronous signal or control signal tothe 3D auxiliary viewing device or the like are similar to the 3Dplayback/output/display processing on 3D content according to the 3D2-viewpoint in respective ESs transmission scheme described in FIG.37(a), and therefore descriptions thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 39(b) is a diagram illustrating a playback/output/display methodcorresponding to output/display in a scheme of displaying left and rightviewpoint videos of 3D content according to the side-by-side scheme ortop-and-bottom scheme in different regions of the display. In the sameway as in FIG. 39(a), coded videos according to the side-by-side schemeand top-and-bottom scheme are illustrated together, and both videos aredifferent only in the arrangement of video for the left eye and videofor the right eye in the video, and therefore the following descriptionwill be given using the side-by-side scheme and description of thetop-and-bottom scheme will be omitted. The frame sequence (L1/R, L2/R2,L3/R3, . . . ) on the left of this figure represents a side-by-sidescheme video signal in which video for the left eye and video for theright eye are arranged on the left/right sides of one frame. The videodecoding unit 30 decodes the side-by-side scheme video signal arrangedon the left/right sides of one frame of video for the left eye and videofor the right eye, the video conversion processing unit 32 separateseach frame of the decoded side-by-side scheme video signal into videofor the left eye and video for the right eye to the left and to theright, and further performs scaling (extension/interpolation orcompression/puncturing or the like so that the videos match the lateralsize of the output video). Furthermore, the video conversion processingunit 32 outputs/displays the scaled video for the left eye and video forthe right eye to/in different regions. As in the case of the descriptionin FIG. 37(b), examples of methods of “displaying the left and rightviewpoint videos in different regions” include a method of displayingodd-numbered lines and even-numbered lines of the display as displayregions for the main viewpoint (left eye) and for the sub-viewpoint(right eye). In addition, display processing in different regions anddisplay method using a display device according to a polarization schemeor the like are similar to the 3D playback/output/display processing on3D content according to the 3D 2-viewpoint in respective ESstransmission scheme described in FIG. 37(b), and therefore descriptionsthereof will be omitted.

According to the scheme in FIG. 39(b), even when the vertical resolutionof the display is the same as the vertical resolution of the inputvideo, if video for the left eye and video for the right eye areoutputted to and displayed on odd-numbered lines and even-numbered linesof the display respectively, the respective vertical resolutions mayhave to be reduced, but even in such a case, puncturing corresponding tothe resolutions of the display regions of video for the left eye andvideo for the right eye may be performed in the above-described scalingprocessing.

<2D Output/Display Processing on 3D Content According to Side-by-SideScheme/Top-and-Bottom Scheme>

The operation of each section when 3D content according to theside-by-side scheme or top-and-bottom scheme is displayed in 2D will bedescribed below. When the user gives an instruction for switching to 2Dvideo (e.g., pressing the “2D” key of the remote controller), the userinstruction reception unit 52 that has received the key code instructsthe system control unit 51 to switch a signal to 2D video (in thefollowing processing, similar processing is performed even whenswitching is made to 2D output/display under conditions other than theuser instruction for switching to 2D output/display of 3D contentaccording to the side-by-side scheme or top-and-bottom scheme). Thesystem control unit 51 that has received the instruction instructs thevideo conversion control unit 61 to output 2D video. The videoconversion control unit 61 that has received the instruction from thesystem control unit 51 controls the video conversion processing unit 32so as to perform 2D video output for the inputted video signal.

The video 2D output/display method will be described using FIG. 40. FIG.40(a) illustrates the side-by-side scheme and FIG. 40(b) illustrates thetop-and-bottom scheme, and since the two schemes are different only inthe arrangement of video for the left eye and video for the right eye inthe video, a description will be given using only the side-by-sidescheme in FIG. 40(a). The frame sequence (L1/R, L2/R2, L3/R3, . . . ) onthe left side of this figure represents a side-by-side scheme videosignal in which video signals for the left eye and for the right eye arearranged on the left and right sides of one frame. The video conversionprocessing unit 32 separates each frame of the inputted side-by-sidescheme video signal into left and right frames of video for the left eyeand video for the right eye, then performs scaling on only the mainviewpoint video (video for the left eye) and outputs only the mainviewpoint video (video for the left eye) as a video signal as shown inthe frame sequence (L1, L2, L3, . . . ) on the right side of thisfigure.

The video conversion processing unit 32 outputs the video signalsubjected to the above-described processing from the video output 41 as2D video and outputs a control signal from the control signal 43. Videois outputted/displayed in 2D in this way.

FIGS. 40(c) and (d) also show examples where 3D content according to theside-by-side scheme or top-and-bottom scheme is stored in one image withtwo viewpoints and outputted/displayed in 2D without modification. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 36, in the case where the reception device andthe viewing device are configured as separate bodies, the receptiondevice may output video which is video according to the side-by-sidescheme or top-and-bottom scheme stored in one image with two viewpointswithout modification, and the viewing device may perform conversion for3D display.

<Example of 2D/3D Video Display Processing Flow Based on Whether CurrentProgram is 3D Content or not>

Next, the content output/display processing when the current program is3D content or when the current program is changed to 3D content will bedescribed. Regarding the viewing of 3D content when the current programis 3D content or when the current program is changed to 3D content, ifthe display of the 3D content starts unconditionally, the user cannotview the content, which may impair the convenience of the user. However,the convenience of the user can be improved by performing the followingprocessing.

FIG. 41 shows an example of a processing flow of the system control unit51 executed at moments when the current program or program informationis changed at the time of program switching. The example in FIG. 41shows a flow in which video with one viewpoint of a 2D program or 3Dprogram (e.g., main viewpoint) is displayed in 2D.

The system control unit 51 acquires program information of the currentprogram from the program information analysis unit 54, decides whetherthe current program is a 3D program or not using the above-described 3Dprogram deciding method and further acquires the 3D mode type of thecurrent program (for example, decides the 2-viewpoint in respective ESstransmission scheme/side-by-side scheme or the like from the 3D modetype described in the 3D program detail descriptor) from the programinformation analysis unit 54 likewise (S401). The program information ofthe current program may be acquired not only when the program isswitched but also periodically.

When the decision result shows that the current program is not a 3Dprogram (no in S402), control is performed so that 2D video is displayedin 2D (S403).

When the current program is a 3D program (yes in S402), the systemcontrol unit 51 performs control using the method described in FIG. 38,FIGS. 40(a) and (b) so that one viewpoint (e.g., main viewpoint) of the3D video signal is displayed in 2D in a format corresponding to the 3Dmode type (S404). In this case, the display indicating that the programis a 3D program may be displayed superimposed on the 2D display video ofthe program. In this way, when the current program is a 3D program,video with one viewpoint (e.g., main viewpoint) is displayed in 2D.

Also when a tuning operation is performed and the current program ischanged, the system control unit 51 performs the above-described flow.

Thus, when the current program is a 3D program, video with one viewpoint(e.g., main viewpoint) is displayed in 2D for the time being. Even whenthe user is not ready for 3D viewing, for example, when the user is notwearing the 3D auxiliary viewing device, this allows the user to viewthe video in substantially the same way as for a 2D program for the timebeing. In the case of 3D content according to the side-by-side scheme ortop-and-bottom scheme in particular, instead of outputting the videostored in one image with two viewpoints as is as shown in FIGS. 40(c)and (d), and by outputting/displaying the video with one viewpoint in 2Das shown in FIGS. 40(a) and (b), the user can view the video in the sameway as a normal 2D program without the user manually instructing 2Ddisplay with one viewpoint of the video stored in one image with twoviewpoints via a remote controller or the like.

Next, FIG. 42 shows video displayed in 2D in step S404 and an example ofa message displayed on the OSD creation unit 60 by the system controlunit 51. A message is displayed to notify the user that a 3D program isstarted and further an object (hereinafter referred to as user responsereceiving object: for example, a button on the OSD) 1602 to which theuser responds is displayed and the user is prompted to select thesubsequent operation.

When the message 1601 is displayed, if, for example, the user pressesthe “OK” button of the remote controller, the user instruction receptionunit 52 notifies the system control unit 51 that “OK” is pressed.

As an example of a user selection deciding method on the screen displayin FIG. 42, when the user operates the remote controller to press the<3D> button of the remote controller or points the cursor to “OK/3D” onthe screen and presses the <OK> button of the remote controller, theuser selection is decided to be “switching to 3D.”

Alternatively, when the user presses the <Cancel> button or <return>button of the remote controller, or points the cursor to <Cancel> on thescreen and presses <OK> of the remote controller, the user selection isdecided to be “other than switching to 3D.” In addition, when, forexample, an operation for making the state as to whether the user hascompleted preparations for 3D viewing or not (3D viewing ready state) OKis performed (e.g., wearing of 3D glasses), the user selection isdecided to be “switching to 3D.”

FIG. 43 shows a processing flow of the system control unit 51 executedafter the user selection. The system control unit 51 acquires the userselection result from the user instruction reception unit 52 (S501).When the user selection is not “switching to 3D” (no in S502), the videoends, remaining displayed in 2D and no particular processing isperformed.

When the user selection is “switching to 3D” (yes in S502), the video isdisplayed in 3D using the above-described 3D display method (S504).

Following the above-described flow, when the 3D program starts, videowith one viewpoint is outputted/displayed in 2D, and after the userperforms an operation or makes preparations for 3D viewing, the user canoutput/display 3D video and view the video in 3D when the user wants 3Dviewing, and it is thereby possible to provide a viewing method tailoredto the user's convenience.

The display example in FIG. 42 shows an object for the user to respondthereto, but a character, logo, mark or the like indicating that theprogram is a program corresponding to “3D viewing” such as “3D program”may be simply displayed. In this case, the user who recognizes that theprogram supports “3D viewing” may press the “3D” key of the remotecontroller to switch 2D display to 3D display at the moment when theuser instruction reception unit 52 that has received the signal from theremote controller notifies the system control unit 51.

As another example of the message displayed in step S404, a method isalso considered which not only specifies OK as shown in FIG. 42 but alsospecifies whether the program is displayed in 2D video or 3D video. FIG.44 shows a message and an example of the user response receiving objectin that case.

This allows the user to more easily decide the operation after pressingthe button or more explicitly instruct the 2D display or the like (whenthe “View in 2D” button shown by reference numeral 1202 is pressed, the“user 3D viewing ready” state is judged “NG”) compared to the display of“OK” shown in FIG. 42, thus improving the convenience.

Instead of the message display in FIG. 42 or FIG. 44 (message shown byreference numeral 1601 or 1201), warning messages shown by referencenumerals 5201, 5202 and 5203 in FIGS. 52(a) to (c) may be displayed.Displaying the message shown by 5201 shows consideration for the user'shealth and urges 2D video viewing, displaying the message shown by 5202calls the user's attention to health and displaying the message shown by5203 calls the parents' attention to viewing by their child.

Along with these messages, the user response reception responding objectshown in FIG. 42 or FIG. 44 may also be displayed on the screen. In thatcase, the user can switch the video to 2D/3D while confirming themessage.

Regarding the timing to display the messages in FIGS. 52(a), (b) and(c), timing before the program starts as shown in the above example isconvenient for the user to prepare for viewing. The messages may also bedisplayed after the program starts or displayed when switching is madeto 3D video. In the case where a message is displayed when the programstarts, this is the point at which video is switched, and thereforethere is a merit of making it easier to allow the user to recognize thatthis is a message relating to the program and call the user's attention.On the other hand, displaying the message at the timing at which thevideo is switched to 3D video (e.g., when the user presses the 3Dbutton) provides a merit that the user is more likely to notice themessage because there is a high possibility that the user may beperforming operation.

Furthermore, simultaneously with displaying the messages in FIGS. 52(a),(b) and (c), an effect sound may be played back or outputted. That caseprovides an effect of attracting the user's attention to the message.When, for example, starting transmission of a 3D broadcasting program orstarting transmission of a descriptor associated with 3D broadcasting,the broadcasting station side may multiplex the effect sound with asound ES or data broadcasting ES and transmit the multiplexed ES and thereception device that has received it may play it back or output it.Alternatively, an effect sound incorporated in the reception device maybe played back and outputted (e.g., data is read from the inside of thesound decoding apparatus 31, ROM or recording medium 26, decoded andoutputted).

Next, regarding viewing of 3D content, an example will be describedwhere specific video/sound is outputted when viewing of a 3D programstarts or video/sound is muted (a black screen is displayed/display isstopped, or audio output is stopped). This is because when the userstarts viewing a 3D program, if the display of 3D content startsunconditionally, the user may not be able to view the content, which mayimpair the convenience of the user. To solve this problem, performingthe following processing can improve the convenience of the user.

FIG. 45 shows a processing flow executed in the system control unit 51when the 3D program starts in this case. This processing flow isdifferent from the processing flow in FIG. 41 in that a step (S405) ofoutputting specific video/sound is added instead of the processing inS404.

The term “specific video/sound” here is, for example, a messageprompting to prepare for 3D, black screen, still image of a program orthe like in the case of video, and silence or music in a fixed pattern(ambient music) or the like in the case of sound.

The display of a fixed pattern video (message, environmental video, 3Dvideo or the like) can be realized by reading data from the inside ofthe video decoding unit 30 or ROM (not shown) or the recording medium 26and by the video decoding unit 30 decoding and outputting the data.Output of a black screen can be realized, for example, by the videodecoding unit 30 outputting only video of a signal representing a blackcolor or by the video conversion processing unit 32 muting the outputsignal or outputting black video.

The fixed pattern sound (silence, ambient music) can be likewiserealized by reading data from the inside of the sound decoding unit 31,ROM or the recording medium 26, decoding and outputting it and mutingthe output signal or the like.

Output of a still image of program video can be realized by the systemcontrol unit 51 instructing the recording/playback control unit 58 topause the playback of the program or video. The processing by the systemcontrol unit 51 after performing user selection is executed as shown inFIG. 43 as described above.

This makes it possible to prevent video or sound of the program frombeing outputted until the user completes preparations for 3D viewing.

As in the case of the example above, a message displayed in step S405 isas shown in FIG. 46. This figure is different from FIG. 42 in that onlythe video and sound displayed are different, and the displayed message,the configuration of the user response receiving object and theoperation of the user response receiving object are the same.

Regarding the display of a message, not only simply displaying OK as inFIG. 46 but also a method of specifying whether the display scheme ofthe program is set to 2D video or 3D video may be considered. Themessage and the example of the user response receiving object in thatcase can also be displayed in the same way as in FIG. 44, and doing soallows the user to more easily decide the operation after pressing thebutton compared to the display of “OK” and it is possible to explicitlyinstruct the display in 2D or the like, and the convenience is improvedas in the case of the example above.

<Example of 2D/3D Video Display Processing Flow Based on Whether NextProgram is 3D Content or not>

Next, content output/display processing when the next program is 3Dcontent will be described. Regarding viewing of a 3D content programwhich is the next program when the next program is 3D content, if thedisplay of the 3D content starts although the user is not ready to viewthe 3D content, the user cannot view the content in best conditions,which may impair the convenience of the user. Applying the followingprocessing to this case can improve the convenience of the user.

FIG. 27 shows an example of a flow executed in the system control unit51 when the time until the next program start is changed due to tuningprocessing or the like or when it is decided, according to informationon the start time of the next program or the end time of the currentprogram contained in EIT of the program information transmitted from thebroadcasting station, that the start time of the next program haschanged. First, the system control unit 51 acquires program informationof the next program from the program information analysis unit 54 (S101)and decides whether the next program is a 3D program or not using theabove 3D program deciding method.

When the next program is not a 3D program (no in S102), the process endswithout particularly performing processing. When the next program is a3D program (yes in S102), the time until the next program starts iscalculated. To be more specific, the start time of the next program orthe end time of the current program is acquired from EIT of the acquiredprogram information, the current time is acquired from the timemanagement unit 55 and a difference thereof is calculated.

When it is more than X minutes before the next program starts (no inS103), the process waits until X minutes before the next program startswithout particularly performing processing. When it is not more than Xminutes before the next program starts (yes in S103), a message isdisplayed notifying the user that the 3D program starts soon (S104).

FIG. 28 shows an example of the message display. Reference numeral 701denotes an entire screen displayed by the device and 702 denotes amessage displayed by the device. In this way, it is possible to call theuser's attention so as to prepare the 3D auxiliary viewing device beforethe 3D program is started.

Regarding the decision time X before the above-described program starts,reducing X may cause the user to fail to complete preparations for 3Dviewing by the time the program starts. On the other hand, increasing Xmay result in demerits like causing the message display for a longperiod of time to obstruct the viewing or causing too much time toremain after completing the preparation, and it is therefore necessaryto adjust X to an appropriate time.

Furthermore, when a message is displayed to the user, the start time ofthe next program may be displayed more specifically. FIG. 29 shows anexample of screen display in that case. Reference numeral 802 denotes amessage indicating the time until the 3D program starts. Here, the timeis indicated in minutes, but the time may also be indicated in seconds.In that case, the user can know a more detailed start time of the nextprogram, but there is also a demerit of increasing the processing load.

FIG. 29 shows an example where the time until the 3D program starts isdisplayed, but the time at which the 3D program starts may also bedisplayed. When the 3D program starts at 9 pm, a message indicating “3Dprogram starts at 9 pm, so please wear 3D glasses” may be displayed.Displaying such a message allows the user to know the start time of thenext program and prepare for 3D viewing at an appropriate pace.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 30, it may be possible to add a mark (3Dcheck mark) that is seen three-dimensionally when the user is wearingthe 3D auxiliary viewing device. Reference numeral 902 denotes a messagepredicting that the 3D program will start, and 903 denotes the mark thatis seen three-dimensionally when the user is wearing the 3D auxiliaryviewing device. This allows the user to check whether the 3D auxiliaryviewing device normally operates or not before the 3D program starts.If, for example, a problem (e.g., battery shortage, malfunction or thelike) occurs in the 3D auxiliary viewing device, measures such asrepair, replacement can be taken by the time the program starts.

Next, after the user is notified that the next program is 3D, a methodof deciding the state as to whether the user's preparation for 3Dviewing has completed or not (3D viewing preparation status) andswitching the video of the 3D program to 2D display or 3D display willbe described.

The method of notifying the user that the next program is 3D has beendescribed above. However, the method is different in that an object(hereinafter referred to as user response receiving object; for example,button on the OSD) is displayed whereby the user makes a response aboutthe message displayed to the user in step S104. FIG. 31 shows an exampleof this message.

Reference numeral 1001 denotes an entire message and 1002 denotes abutton for the user to make a response. When the message 1001 in FIG. 31is displayed, if, for example, the user presses the “OK” button of theremote controller, the user instruction reception unit 52 notifies thesystem control unit 51 that “OK” has been pressed.

The system control unit 51 that has received the notification saves thefact that the 3D viewing preparation status of the user is OK as astatus. Next, a processing flow of the system control unit 51 when atime has elapsed and the current program becomes a 3D program will bedescribed using FIG. 32.

The system control unit 51 acquires program information of the currentprogram from the program information analysis unit 54 (S201) and decideswhether the current program is a 3D program or not using theabove-described 3D program deciding method. When the current program isnot a 3D program (no in S202), the system control unit 51 performscontrol so that the video is displayed in 2D using the above-describedmethod (S203).

When the current program is a 3D program (yes in S202), the 3D viewingpreparation status of the user is checked next (S204). When the 3Dviewing preparation status saved by the system control unit 51 is not OK(no in S205), control is performed so that the video is likewisedisplayed in 2D (S203).

When the 3D viewing preparation status is OK (yes in S205), control isperformed so that the video is displayed in 3D using the above-describedmethod (S206). When it is possible to confirm in this way that thecurrent program is a 3D program and the user has completed preparationsfor 3D viewing, the video is displayed in 3D.

As the message display shown in step S104, a method may be consideredwhich not only places OK as shown in FIG. 31 but also specifies whetherthe display scheme of the next program should be 2D video or 3D video.FIG. 33 and FIG. 34 show examples of the message and user responsereceiving object in that case.

This allows the user to more easily decide the operation after pressingthe button compared to the display of “OK” and moreover allows the userto explicitly instruct the display in 2D (when the “View in 2D” buttonshown by 1202 is pressed, the user 3D viewing preparation status isjudged NG), which improves the convenience.

Furthermore, the 3D viewing preparation status of the user is decidedthrough the operation of the user menu using the remote controller here,but other methods may also be used such as deciding the 3D viewingpreparation status based on, for example, a user wearing completionsignal transmitted from the 3D auxiliary viewing device or taking apicture of the viewing state of the user using an image pickup device,recognizing the image and recognizing the user's face based on the imagetaking result and deciding that the user is wearing the 3D auxiliaryviewing device.

Introducing such a deciding method can save the user time and trouble ofperforming certain operation on the reception device, and further avoidany misoperation such as erroneously setting 2D video viewing and 3Dvideo viewing.

Furthermore, another method may be a method that decides the 3D viewingpreparation status as OK when the user presses the <3D> button of theremote controller and decides the 3D viewing preparation status as NGwhen the user presses the <2D> button or <Return> button or <Cancel>button of the remote controller. In this case, the user can clearly andeasily notify his/her status to the device, but there may also be ademerit of status transmission or the like caused by misoperation ormisunderstanding.

Furthermore, in the above example, instead of acquiring information ofthe current program, processing may be performed by deciding only theprogram information of the next program acquired beforehand. In thiscase, instead of deciding in step S201 of FIG. 32 whether the currentprogram is a 3D program or not, a method using program informationacquired beforehand (e.g., step S101 in FIG. 27) may also be adopted. Inthis case, there can be a merit that the processing structure becomessimpler or the like, whereas there is also a demerit that 3D videoswitching processing may be executed even when the program configurationis suddenly changed and the next program ceases to be a 3D program.

The message display to each user described in the present embodiment ispreferably erased after the user operation. In that case, there is amerit that video viewing becomes easier after the user performs thatoperation. Furthermore, even after a lapse of certain time, erasing themessage assuming that the user already recognizes information of themessage and making video viewing easier may likewise enhance theconvenience of the user.

According to the embodiment described above, regarding the 3D programstarting portion, the user can complete preparations for 3D viewingbeforehand or if the user cannot complete preparations for 3D viewing bythe time the program starts, the recording/playback function may be usedto display the video again after the user completes preparations for 3Dviewing, and the user can thereby view the 3D program in a bettercondition. Furthermore, it is possible to automatically switch the videodisplay to a display method assumed to be desirable for the user (3Dvideo display when 3D video viewing is desired or 3D video viewing when3D video display is desired), thus making it possible to enhance theconvenience of the user.

Furthermore, similar effects can be expected when switching is made to a3D program by tuning or when playback of a recorded 3D program starts.

An example has been described above where the 3D program detaildescriptors described in FIG. 10(a) are transmitted, arranged in a tablesuch as PMT (Program Map Table) or EIT (Event Information Table).Instead of or in addition to this, information contained in the 3Dprogram detail descriptors may be stored in a user data region which iscoded together with video at the time of video coding or in anadditional information region, and transmitted. In this case, suchinformation is included in a video ES of the program.

Examples of the information to be stored include 3d_2d_type (3D/2D type)information described in FIG. 10(b) and 3d_method_type (3D mode type)information described in FIG. 11. The 3d_2d_type (3D/2D type)information and 3d_method_type (3D mode type) information may be storedas different pieces of information or identification whether video is 3Dvideo or 2D video and identification to which 3D mode the 3D videobelongs may be combined together as identification information.

To be more specific, when the video coding scheme is an MPEG2 scheme,the above-described 3D/2D type information or 3D mode type informationmay be included in the user data region that follows Picture header andPicture Coding Extension, and coded.

Furthermore, when the video coding scheme is an H.264/AVC scheme, theabove-described 3D/2D type information or 3D mode type information maybe included in the additional information (supplemental enhancementinformation) region included in the access unit, and coded.

Transmitting information indicating the type of 3D video/2D video orinformation indicating the type of the 3D mode in the coding layer ofvideo in an ES in this way provides an effect that it is possible toidentify video in frame (picture) units.

In this case, the above-described identification is made possible inunits shorter than those when stored in PMT (Program Map Table), and itis thereby possible to improve the response speed of the receiver withrespect to switching of 3D video/2D video in the video transmitted andfurther suppress noise or the like that may be generated at the time of3D video/2D video switching.

Furthermore, if none of the above-described 3D program detaildescriptors is arranged in PMT (Program Map Table) and theabove-described information is stored in a video coding layer to becoded together with video at the time of video coding, when aconventional 2D broadcasting station newly starts 2D/3D mixedbroadcasting, for example, the broadcasting station side may adopt aconfiguration in which only the encoding unit 12 in the transmissiondevice 1 in FIG. 2 is newly made compatible with 2D/3D mixedbroadcasting, and the configuration of PMT (Program Map Table) added bythe management information adding unit 16 need not be changed and 2D/3Dmixed broadcasting can be started at lower cost.

When 3D-related information (information identifying 3D/2D inparticular) such as 3d_2d_type (3D/2D type) information or3d_method_type (3D mode type) information is not stored in apredetermined region such as a user data region coded together withvideo at the time of video coding or additional information region, thereceiver may be configured so as to decide that the video is 2D video.In this case, the broadcasting station can omit storage of suchinformation during coding processing for 2D video and can thereby reduceprocessing man-hours in broadcasting.

Cases have been described above as examples of arranging identificationinformation identifying 3D video in program (event) units or serviceunits, where the identification information is included in programinformation of component descriptors, component group descriptors,service descriptors, service list descriptors or the like and where 3Dprogram detail descriptors are newly provided. Furthermore, thesedescriptors are included in tables such as PMT, EIT [schedulebasic/schedule extended/present/following], NIT, SDT, and transmitted.

Moreover, information of the 3D transmission scheme of a target event(program) may be displayed.

Furthermore, the receiver that has received the above EIT can search aprogram not containing 3D video, a program containing 3D video and canbe played back in 3D by the present receiver, a program that contains 3Dvideo but cannot be played back in 3D by the present receiver or thelike, and can display corresponding programs in list form or the like.

Furthermore, the receiver can also search a program for each 3Dtransmission scheme for programs containing 3D video and also displayprograms in list form for each 3D transmission scheme. A search for aprogram that contains 3D video but cannot be played back in 3D or aprogram search for each 3D transmission scheme are effective, forexample, when 3D video cannot be played back by the present receiver butcan be played back by another 3D video program player owned by the user.This is because even in the case of a program containing 3D video thatcannot be played back by the present receiver, the program may beoutputted from the video output unit of the present receiver to theother 3D video program player in the same transport stream format, andthe received transport stream format program can be played back in 3D,and if the present receiver is provided with a recording unit thatrecords content onto a removable media, it is possible to record theprogram onto the removable media and play back the program recorded onthe removable media in 3D using the other 3D video program player.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 Transmission device-   2 Relay device-   3 Network-   4 Reception device-   5 Recording/playback unit-   11 Source generator-   12 Encoding unit-   13 Scrambling unit-   14 Modulation unit-   15 Transmission antenna section-   16 Management information-   17 Encryption unit-   18 Communication path coding unit-   19 Network I/F unit-   21 CPU-   22 General-purpose bus-   23 Tuner-   24 Descrambler-   25 Network I/F-   26 Recording medium-   27 Recording/playback unit-   29 Demultiplexing unit-   30 Video decoding unit-   31 Sound decoding unit-   32 Video conversion processing unit-   33 Control signal transmission/reception unit-   34 Timer-   41 Video output unit-   42 Audio output unit-   43 Control signal output unit-   44 Machine control signal transmission-   45 User operational input-   46 High-speed digital interface-   47 Display-   48 Speaker-   51 System control unit-   52 User instruction reception unit-   53 Machine control signal transmission unit-   54 Program information analysis unit-   55 Time management unit-   56 Network control unit-   57 Decoding control unit-   58 Recording/playback control unit-   59 Tuning control unit-   60 OSD creation unit-   61 Video conversion control unit

1. A reception device comprising: a reception unit that receives aprogram content and program information concerning the program content;and an output video generation unit that generates an output video fromvideo data of the program content received by the reception unit,wherein the program information includes identification informationconcerning a 3D video in case that the program content is a 3D program,the identification information provides identification of whetherdifferent images for different viewpoints are included in a singlestream of the video data or the different images for differentviewpoints are respectively included in different streams of the videodata, and further provides identification of an arrangement scheme ofthe different images for different viewpoints in the single stream whenthe different images for different viewpoints are included in the singlestream, and the output video generation unit converts at least a portionof the video data of the received program content based in part on theidentification information received by the reception unit to generatethe output video.
 2. A reception method for a reception devicecomprising the steps of: receiving a program content and programinformation concerning the program content; and generating an outputvideo from video data of the received program content, wherein theprogram information includes identification information concerning a 3Dvideo in case that the program content is a 3D program, theidentification information provides identification of whether differentimages for different viewpoints are included in a single stream of thevideo data or the different images for different viewpoints arerespectively included in different streams of the video data, andfurther provides identification of an arrangement scheme of thedifferent images for different viewpoints in the single stream when thedifferent images for different viewpoints are included in the singlestream, and in the step of generating an output video, at least aportion of the video data of the received program content is convertedbased in part on the received identification information to generate theoutput video.